Toyota ponders plug-in, fuel cell, even an electric Land Cruiser for the future

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. faces a quandary with its venerated Land Cruiser.

The long-running nameplate is big, boxy, brawny and popular. The question is how to keep the hulking SUV mean and green through the end of the decade in the age of carbon reduction.

As a first step, the 2024 Land Cruiser unveiled this month will be the first version equipped with a gasoline-electric hybrid drivetrain. But Keita Moritsu, the vehicle's chief engineer, says even that new integrated 48-hp electric motor and battery won't be enough to see it through to 2030.

For future Land Cruiser updates, Toyota is already looking at plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel cells and even full-electric powertrains, Moritsu said this month in Tokyo where the Land Cruiser was unveiled.

Each setup has its own pluses and minuses, he said, and nothing has been decided yet. The latest update, called the Land Cruiser 250 as a successor to the Land Cruiser 200 or Prado, goes on sale in the U.S. and Japan next year. Engineers are just beginning to brainstorm future variants.

The world's biggest carmaker wants to keep Land Cruiser, one of its most iconic nameplates, in the lineup. In some markets, the Land Cruiser brand name is more recognizable than even Toyota's own name, executives like to say. Global sales of all versions, including the full-sized 300 series, the smaller 200 and the retro-holdover 70 series, rose 5.7 percent to 271,018 vehicles last year.

But keeping Land Cruiser means making it compliant with diverse and changing emissions regulations worldwide.

The outgoing 200, for example, split its global deliveries among Japan, Europe, the Middle East and the Australia-East Asia region. That's a thorny thicket of diverse regulations.

Project engineers are strategizing in line with Toyota's corporate "multi-pathway" approach to carbon dioxide reduction, adopting various green technologies appropriate to regional market conditions.

For Land Cruiser, a fuel cell system would have the advantage of being good for long-range driving and heavy towing, Moritsu said. That's important for the SUV, which is a rural work horse from the Australian Outback to the Arabian Desert. The downside would be packaging the necessary cumbersome tanks, which are likely to eat into the SUV's cavernous interior space for passengers and cargo.

Fuel cells also face a hurdle with limited refueling infrastructure.

Meanwhile, plug-in hybrids deliver good range and towing. And they are suitable for rural use because they can tap into the existing gasoline refueling network. But their engines still belch out carbon emissions, even though they might be cleaner than standard hybrids.

Finally, there is the all-electric option, but this approach might be a long shot for now. While an electric Land Cruiser would be emissions-free, its battery-powered drivetrain would likely lag in long-range towing, Moritsu said, especially in the ultrahot or frigid climes where Land Cruiser is a lifeline. The advent of solid-state batteries could be a breakthrough, but Moritsu said that technology still needs a lot of development.

The all-electric option also faces infrastructure and cost challenges.

"Each has difficult points and merit points," Moritsu said of the various electrification technologies. "So we need to think about how to approach under the multi-pathway."

No matter the direction, the vehicle's current TNGA-F platform for body-on-frame trucks will have to be tweaked to accommodate extra environmental hardware. That Toyota platform, also known as the F1 architecture, debuted in 2021 and underpins the Tundra and Tacoma pickups, as well as the full-sized Land Cruiser 300 and Sequoia SUVs. The Lexus LX and upcoming GX also use it.

Moritsu said the original platform wasn't designed to accommodate more advanced drivetrains such as hydrogen fuel cells with their massive tanks or full-electrics with their bulky batteries.

"We will try to adjust the platform to accommodate," Moritsu said.

The new hybrid Land Cruiser, available only in North America and China for now, mates the motor and battery to a 2.4-liter turbocharged engine and eight-speed automatic transmission. The iForce Max hybrid powertrain generates up to 365 hp and 465 pound-feet of torque.

It is the most powerful drivetrain configuration offered in the Land Cruiser 250, which also comes in traditional gasoline and diesel, turbo and non-turbo versions for other global markets. Fuel economy will be revealed in the future.

One goal of the hybrid version was to prevent the added components from intruding on interior space, said Simon Humphries, Toyota's global design boss and chief branding officer.

Exterior design was sculpted to improve aerodynamics while retaining the Land Cruiser's trademark rugged, ready-for-work look. Key to that identity are the SUV's stand-up A-pillars for better visibility and its high front fenders for clear sight lines to its corners.

The new Land Cruiser's square end helps shed the air, as does its un-adorned sheet metal, which stays as flush and clean as possible. Spats in front of the front tires also help, Humphries said.

All told, the tricks enable the new Land Cruiser 250 to achieve a slicker silhouette than the outgoing 200, despite the predecessor's more rounded front fascia and rooflines.

Humphries said the new model has a lower drag coefficient, though he declined to give a figure.

As for future drivetrain ideas, Humphries hewed to the multi-pathway mantra.

"Toyota is committed to providing mobility to everyone in the world, but not everyone is in the same situation," he said. "Whether it will be a BEV in the future or an H-2-powered engine or a fuel cell, who knows what is best for Land Cruiser? There is lots of discussion we have to have."