Plug-In Hybrid Reportedly In The Works
Toyota has embraced plug-in hybrid powertrains for popular models like the Prius and RAV4, and a new report indicates the Land Cruiser could be next. However, we’re talking about the full-size Land Cruiser 300 series sold in other markets, not the smaller version sold in the United States, and as the Land Cruiser Prado abroad.
Japanese publication Creative Trend reports that Toyota has suspended orders for gasoline Land Cruisers in its home market and is limiting availability of diesels, paving the way for electrified powertrains. And while Toyota already offers a Land Cruiser hybrid in the Middle East, the publication believes a plug-in hybrid is also likely.
Will It Be Worth It?
Toyota
The 300 series Land Cruiser launched in 2021 with two non-hybrid powertrains. A 3.3-liter turbodiesel V6 addressed diesel-friendly markets, which a twin-turbo 3.5-liter gasoline V6 replaced the old naturally-aspirated V8 as the most powerful engine option. The hybrid, which adds a single electric motor to the gasoline V6, was added in 2025. It’s similar to the setup used in the U.S.-market Lexus LX 700h, which is closely related to the 300 series Land Cruiser.
Creative Trend speculates that a plug-in hybrid would also use the twin-turbo V6. It would be presumably be coupled to a more powerful electric motor and a bigger battery pack to give the Land Cruiser plug-in hybrid at least some all-electric driving range. But while Toyota’s U.S. plug-in hybrids have generally balanced increased power and performance with increased efficiency, that may be harder to achieve in the bigger, heavier Land Cruiser.
The report notes that the added weight of a plug-in hybrid system could cancel out any efficiency benefits. That’s certainly the case with the Lexus LX hybrid, which is barely more fuel efficient than non-hybrid models. Packaging the battery pack could also be difficult in the three-row Land Cruiser, the report notes. Anyone who’s tried to sit in the third row of a Toyota Sequoia, which features a standard hybrid powertrain and shares the Land Cruiser’s TNGA-F platform, knows that Toyota has had trouble with this in the past.
All-Electric Model Also Rumored
Toyota Land Cruiser Se Concept
If the Land Cruiser plug-in hybrid does make it to production, it likely won’t reach the U.S. as Toyota has no plans to bring any 300 series Land Cruiser models here. But it would make sense in the Land Cruiser’s Lexus LX cousin, as Lexus already offers non-hybrid, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid powertrains in other utility vehicles like the NX and RX.
It’s also possible that Toyota will leapfrog the plug-in hybrid and bring an all-electric Land Cruiser to the U.S. It’s already teased the idea with the Compact Cruiser EV and Land Cruiser Se concepts in 2022 and 2023, respectively, and has confirmed a three-row electric SUV for production in Kentucky starting in 2026. Could it wear a Land Cruiser badge?
