Sky-high Toyota LandCruiser prices continue

Toyota Australia says dealers will continue to have free rein on what they charge cashed-up customers for the outgoing Toyota LandCruiser 200 Series – despite some prices nearing $200,000.

Appetite for the 13-year-old SUV has skyrocketed in recent months, reflecting a perfect storm of overseas travel bans and consumer fears the incoming six-cylinder turbo-diesel Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series won’t live up to the legacy of the current V8-powered LC200.

In March, Toyota sold 2244 examples of the 4x4 off-road wagon, taking its year-to-date total to more than 5000 units – a whopping 60 per cent increase over the same period last year.

Toyota Australia won’t say how many new 200 Series vehicles remain available or when production ends, which is only adding to rampant demand at dealerships.

In an interview with carsales, Toyota Australia’s vice-president of sales and marketing, Sean Hanley, said dealers had independence in how they priced the outgoing 200 Series, as the countdown continues to the 300 Series’ arrival.

“The dealers are dealing in a competitive market, the Australian car market is the most competitive in the world and they are franchises and free agents so the market will determine what the market will pay for a car and we’re a very competitive market,” Hanley said.

While the LandCruiser 70 Series line-up will continue with its 151kW/430Nm 4.5-litre turbo-diesel V8 for the time being, the all-new 300 Series is set to return to six-cylinder diesel power.

But Hanley was non-committal.

“There’s no update. LandCruiser 200 is selling its head off,” he said.

“They’re in hot demand, there’s no doubt about. That’s driven by the rise in domestic travel – we’re certainly seeing extraordinary demand for LandCruiser 200.”

Hanley wouldn’t be drawn on whether the Toyota factory was still manufacturing the 200 Series, only saying “we’ve still got supply of LandCruiser 200”.

Toyota’s list prices for the 200 Series start at $80,996 plus on-road costs for the entry-level GX and top out at $124,396 for the Sahara. Despite requests, the company has not confirmed whether the limited-edition Horizon (from $131,896) remains available.

Nonetheless, asking prices across the range are likely to continue to increase as remaining stock is exhausted.

“There’s been a lot of speculation about LandCruiser 200 Series running, but every month I look at the VFACTS sales figures and it’s doing pretty well. Last month was no exception, we’ll continue to see LandCruiser 200 doing well,” Hanley said.

“Whatever we do with LandCruiser you can be very sure it will be capable and you can be confident.”

Hanley said the unprecedented buying frenzy with LandCruiser fell against a broader backdrop of strong demand for Toyota vehicles in Australia, with wait times for many products.

“We’re experiencing extraordinary demand for the new car market so we do have some wait time, typically between three and six months depending on model,” he said.

“We’re managing that very carefully and we’re communicating constantly with customers about the status of their vehicle. We’re always endeavouring to bring more cars to market obviously so we reduce any wait times, but at the same we’re being up front with customers with wait times.

“I think we’ll sell well over 200,000 cars this year. There’s extraordinary demand.”

Related: Toyota LandCruiser prices hit almost $200K