We know the Toyota Land Cruiser, also known as the LC300, is popular. Who wouldn’t want one? It’s macho, it’s powerful, it’s stately, and it has undeniable cachet.
In our market, the demand for the new LC300 is legendary. At some point there was no more waiting list; you just signed up for intent and waited for your Toyota sales agent to deliver manna from heaven—heaven being one of Toyota’s factories in Japan. Eventually supply normalized and you could get on a waiting list, but you would still wait.
Recently we learned more about the spectacular demand for the 2024 Land Cruiser, and how strong our market is for this SUV. Apparently the Philippines is the second largest market for the Land Cruiser, next only to the Middle East.
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Our monthly allotment is about 150 - 200 units per month. This means that at a retail price of P5,747,000 for the Land Cruiser ZX, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) can make P1 billion a month in sales just from the LC alone. And that’s assuming buyers paid the cash price; there’s more income when buyers finance the purchase.
It’s also interesting that the Middle East is the biggest Land Cruiser market. Because we know that many gray market LC300s are sourced from the Middle East, so their allotment also goes to us. That means we might never know the true Philippine-market clamor for the LC if demand were allowed to find its equilibrium.
Of course it’s hard to ignore the alligator in the room. We all know many Land Cruisers end up equipped with single-digit license plates. Sometimes all you can do is shrug.
TMP is poised for another record-breaking year. The Land Cruiser may not contribute much in terms of sheer unit sales, but in terms of brand imaging and as a technological showcase, it’s one of the reasons why Toyota is number one.
