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Even Toyota is surprised by the demand for the new Prado – despite criticism of its smaller-than-expected boot – but estimated wait times are down below six months.
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Demand for the 2025 Toyota LandCruiser Prado four-wheel-drive is "stronger than we believed it would be", the company says, after the first two months of deliveries catapulted it back among the country's top-selling cars.
Yet estimated wait times appear to have eased since the first new Prado 4WDs arrived two months ago – now down to between three and six months – according to a top Toyota executive.
The first new Toyota Prado in 15 years has faced criticism for a small boot – and prices $10,000 to $12,000 higher than before – but the brand says it is "doing its job very well".
"Terrific. Very strong. And in fact exceeding even our own expectations," Toyota Australia sales and marketing boss Sean Hanley told Drive when asked about demand for Prado this week.
"There's been a lot of talk about Prado, and I've read a lot of articles – some of them very unsubstantiated, a lot of decent headlines.
"But the reality is that it's a great looking car, it drives well. I've spoken to a few people now that own it, drive it and I've had feedback like 'this is just the best.' They're loving it."
Hanley told Australian media at the Prado's local launch in mid-November that up to 27,000 examples have been allocated to Australia over the following 12 months, with 17,000 deposits placed.
That would translate to an estimated wait of seven to eight months – assuming all deposits convert to firm orders, and depending on the length of each dealer's queue.
But it appears wait times have been reduced.
"It depends on their Toyota dealer's allocation position," Hanley said, before admitting that "realistically, unless a dealer's got one spare, which is highly unlikely right at this moment, [it's] probably three to six months."
A new allocation system implemented for the latest Prado will give dealers visibility on the number of vehicles they will receive over the next 12 months, within which they can accept orders.
Once the allocation is exhausted, dealers will not be able to place more orders within their systems until more vehicles are assigned to them.
Customers will be able to lodge an 'expression of interest' with a dealership before their allocation is renewed, intended to hold their place in the queue.
Hanley acknowledged criticism of the small boot – due to a high floor that needs to accomodate a large battery used in a petrol-hybrid version sold overseas – but said customers have other options within the Toyota 4WD line-up.
"In terms of the seating capacity that gets mentioned a bit, people have got choices in relation to that," he said.
"And they're making those choices in terms of our model line-up, whether they stick with the model they originally ordered or moving to another one.
"So we are finding the Prado and customer demand is stronger than we believed it would be, and we think it's a really good car. It's doing its job very well."
The top-of-the-range Prado Kakadu seven-seater is priced in line with an entry-level LandCruiser 300 Series GX, while a Fortuner Crusade seven-seater is about $6000 cheaper than a Prado GX.
In its first two months of customer deliveries – November and December 2024 – the Prado was Australia's third and fourth most-popular vehicle respectively, reporting 6277 sales over the period.
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Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
