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It’s no overstatement to describe Toyota as a powerhouse.
Not only is the Japanese carmaking giant number one on the sales chart for new cars in Australia, it’s held that position for the past 20 years. Biggest carmaker on the planet? Toyota, by a generous margin.
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Diversity of product certainly helps it achieve that degree of popularity, with the brand offering something for almost every mainstream segment there is. One of the broadest portfolios of hybrids also helps that appeal, with more and more Aussies looking to lower the running costs of the family vehicles. Demand for petrol-electric product has been so strong, in fact, that in mid-2024 Toyota Australia announced that it would only offer its regular cars and unibody SUVs as hybrids – only performance vehicles and body-on-frame SUVs and commercial vehicles would continue with combustion-only power.
So, what’s around the corner for Toyota in Australia? Here’s what’s in the foreseeable future, and what you can expect beyond that:
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JUMP AHEAD
Confirmed new models
Future models
Confirmed new models
LandCruiser Prado
Launching in the second half of 2024, the local arrival of the Prado will be a commercially critical moment for Toyota Australia.
The 250-series LandCruiser Prado is an all-new renewal of Toyota’s fan-favourite offroader, which has historically sat alongside the Kluger as the top-seller in the large SUV segment. Prices are going up for the new-gen Prado, however, with a $9670 increase in the price of entry and even greater price rises across the board, prospective Prado owners will need to stump up more to put one in their driveway.
Balancing that out is a massive increase in standard equipment and the adoption of a more efficient eight-speed automatic, though power will continue to be supplied by a HiLux-spec 2.8-litre turbo diesel inline four with 150kW and 500Nm.
Camry
Gearing up for a fourth-quarter 2024 launch is the latest evolution of the family car favourite, Toyota’s Camry.
The ninth-generation model will arrive on our shores with a three-grade lineup, consisting of base Ascent, mid-spec Ascent Sport and the top-shelf SL – the SX grade of the outgoing generation has been deleted.
Non-hybrid powertrains have also been cleaved off the Camry. As with the rest of the Aussie Toyota car and unibody SUV range, the Camry will be exclusively hybrid, with power coming from a 2.5-litre petrol engine and electric motor combo.
Essentially an extensive facelift of the eight-gen model, the new Camry carries over a lot of sheetmetal but sports more dramatic styling to its front and rear end. Inside, there’s better infotainment software running on bigger screens, fresh interior furnishings, and mare electronic safety aids. Expect pricing to increase to reflect those changes.
Tundra
Rumblings of the Tundra’s arrival is pretty big news for Toyota Australia. Literally.
The hulking pickup is set to come here as a RHD-converted Yankee pickup to do battle with its compatriots the Chevrolet Silverado, RAM 1500 and Ford F-150, and it’ll be here with the full weight of official Toyota Australia aftersales support as well.
To get to showroom-ready status, it's partnered with Walkinshaw Automotive Group to locally convert the biggest truck in the Toyota stable to right-hand-drive, and with the Tundra now based on the same TNGA-F platform as the 300 Series LandCruiser, the task will be made easier, with the team able to poach RHD parts that are already in production.
While it’s not completely locked in, the Toyota Tundra is already creating a stir with punters, especially those looking for a rig that can tow 4500kg. Toyota is also taking the unconventional approach of leasing out the first 300 examples to customers rather than selling them outright, with those customers required to provide feedback to Toyota – essentially making them part of the pickup’s test and evaluation programme. If all goes well, expect a more conventional sales debut sometime in 2025.
GR Updates
Around the end of 2024 Toyota will roll out a range of running updates to its GR family of performance cars, with the headline news being the arrival of the facelifted GR Corolla and GR Yaris.
Beyond freshened-up cosmetics and a comprehensive interior restyle for the GR Yaris, these updates will also herald the introduction of an automatic transmission option for both cars – music to the ears of driving enthusiasts who’d rather not bother with a clutch.
Power also gets bumped up for the Yaris, with an extra 24kW and 30Nm being squeezed from its 1.6-litre turbo three-pot. The GR Corolla also gets a 30Nm boost, generating a torque tally of 400Nm, though power remains at 221kW. A suspension retune also tones the GR Corolla’s handling further.
Full pricing and specifications for both the GR Yaris and GR Corolla facelifts will be announced closer to the end of 2024.
C-HR
Revealed in 2023, the new C-HR made its Australian debut in March 2024.
In its second generation, the C-HR is now supplied from Europe, with only hybrid powertrains on offer. It's not cheap, but it could prove very popular with style-focused singles.
Read our Australian launch review at the linked story above.
RAV4
The only change in 2024 for the Toyota’s ever-popular RAV4 has been the shift to an all-hybrid range, with petrol-only variants being discontinued and put into run-out earlier in the year.
Are there further changes coming for the top-selling midsize SUV? 2025 will mark the sixth year of the RAV4 being on sale in Australia, which is the traditional age of retirement for most unibody cars and SUVs, but so far there's no word about what's in store for the next generation RAV. Expect to start hearing more about that one either toward the end of this year or sometime in 2025.
BZ4x
Toyota's first all-electric model, the BZ4X electric SUV, finally made its Australian debut in 2024.
Drive configurations include front- and all-wheel drive, and In the case of the former, there's a single big front-mounted motor providing motivation. But, where other brands use all-wheel drive as a welcome excuse to add a lot more power and speed, the AWD version of the BZ4x will swap the big single motor for two smaller ones – one at the front and one at the rear – to develop similar overall power.
That means there’s a 150kW motor in the FWD model, which is fairly close to standard – but only two 80kW motors in the AWD for a total of 160kW.
Both versions pack a 71.4kWh battery system, with the FWD model offering 516 kilometres of driving range. As with all AWD EVs, the all-wheel-drive model will give you surety, but reduce driving range to 460 kilometres.
Future models
HiLux
The dual-cab utility space has been re-energised in Australia with the launch of Ford’s latest Ranger, along with its twin the Volkswagen Amarok, while new metal is coming from rivals like Mitsubishi.
All of that fresh product is making the HiLux look old and wrinkly by comparison, but there’s building buzz about what’s next for Toyota’s globally important utility.
While Toyota’s HiLux battles it out for the 'best-seller' spot every month with its Blue Oval foe, it’s clear the HiLux’s next reboot can’t come fast enough. When? Probably not terribly soon, as the HiLux received a modest facelift in early 2024 and welcomed the arrival of its mild-tune GR Sport variant, and Toyota will likely want to give the refreshed Hilux family a good length of time to marinate in showrooms.
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2023 Toyota HiLux GR Sport
Perhaps we’ll hear about an all-new replacement sometime in 2025, but 2026 seems more likely. While Toyota is yet to confirm it, expect to see a version of the company’s most recent ladder-frame platform, the TNGA-F, underpinning it.
The TNGA-F frame currently rides underneath vehicles like the 300 Series LandCruiser and the incoming Prado, as well as the large, US-based Tacoma ute in the US.
This means that the next HiLux will be taller, longer and wider than the current version. As well, the newer platform will enable Toyota to incorporate hybrid-compatible gear like electric motors and 48-volt batteries, and potentially even larger plug-in style batteries. With Toyota already flirting with a fully-electric HiLux (we’ve driven the concept), a more battery-centric ute seems like a logical next step for the Big T.
LandCruiser FJ
This one is speculative for now, but the overseas rumourmill claims Toyota is about to wheel out a spiritual successor to the long-departed FJ Cruiser.
Believed to debut either late this year or sometime in 2025, with styling based on the spunky Compact Cruiser concept of 2022 and mechanicals drawn from the Asian-market HiLux Champ, the LandCruiser FJ could be just the thing to grow Toyota's family of offroad wagons.
The timing would make sense. The new Prado is moving up in price, creating a bigger gap below it for an enthusiast-focused, shorter-wheelbase 4x4 to slide into. The LandCruiser FJ could also take the place of the HiLux-based Fortuner when Toyota's ute transitions into its next generation (see above).
How real is this? Well, Toyota Australia has already trademarked the LandCruiser FJ name, which at least shows that a local intro is somewhere on the product plan. We should find out more soon - potentially before the end of 2024.
Celica and MR2
While Toyota has already resurrected the Supra nameplate, there are two more famous athletes from Toyota's history that are expected to make a similar return from the grave.
Development on two new performance coupes is reportedly well underway at Toyota, and the intent is apparently to stick two very recognisable badges to them: Celica and MR2.
But nostalgia won't be the only thing fuelling their appeal. Rather, a new 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine with a stout 294kW of power and 550Nm of torque in road car form (and north of 440kW for a race-ready version) are slated to feature under the bonnet.
The MR2 is expected to be the more powerful of the pair, and potentially wear a six-figure pricetag. The Celica would complement it as a more accessible sports coupe, sitting somewhere between the current 86 and Supra in Toyota's performance car hierarchy.
When? An official reveal is rumoured for 2025.
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