New ordering system to ease Prado wait times

TOYOTA Australia says 18-month wait lists are a thing of the past, despite the record-setting order bank it holds for its new 250 Series LandCruiser Prado.

Speaking with media at the launch of the all-new Toyota 250 Series LandCruiser Prado range last week, Toyota Australia vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations Sean Hanley said the implementation of a new ordering system will improve communication with the customer while limiting the number of orders a dealer can place.

“I can tell you that our production allocation for the first 12 months is above 25,000 units – in fact, it’s closer to 27,000 units,” he said.

“As of today, our dealers have taken more than 17,000 orders (for the new LandCruiser Prado), he said.

“It’s a level of demand that has prompted us to adopt a whole new way of doing business in terms of allocating these vehicles and communicating with customers.

“We learned a lot over the last five years … and we will not go back to the days of open-ended order-taking for such a popular model. It is not in our own interest, and certainly not in the interest of our customers.”

Customers can now place an expression of interest for the LandCruiser Prado that will add them to a queue before a deposit is taken.

Mr Hanley said the system will help to deliver more certainty around vehicle wait times and prevent dealers from ordering vehicles in an open-ended manner.

“Each month, we are advising our Toyota dealers of exactly how many cars they will receive for the following 12 months,” he explained.

“Should a dealer reach their rolling 12-month allocation in any given month … they will not be able to place another order in our system until further allocation is confirmed.

“The change point is (that) there will be a wait time of between one and 12 months at some point. However, the dealer will be in a far better position to be able to give the customer more exacting delivery times than before.

“It’s a better experience. (But) obviously those that got in early will get their cars early (while) those that are coming in now will probably have a wait – but it won’t be any more than 12 months.

“It is not a perfect science, but it is certainly better than anything we’ve had before,” he admitted.

With 27,000 LandCruiser Prado variants allocated to Australian Toyota dealerships over the coming 12 months, Mr Hanley said it is likely the model will set a new sales record come the end of 2025.

The previous record for the LandCruiser Prado was set in 2021 when 21,299 units were delivered.

Barring any shipping delays, Mr Hanley said it is “quite conceivable” the LandCruiser Prado will set a new sales record.

“If you have a look at the fact we have ‘sold’ 17,000 (units) in a very short time, (then) it is quite conceivable (that the record will be broken). But in the end, our customers will decide,” he added.

Early indication shows buyer preference sits firmly with the second-from-base GXL variant, which forms 50 per cent of the currently pre-order list. The mid-tier VX places second with a 20 per cent share of the order bank, followed by the base-grade GX at 10 per cent.

The remainder is comprised of an unspecified mix of range-topping Altitude and Kakadu variants.

Visit GoAuto again soon for more on the 2025 Toyota LandCruiser Prado – including our local launch review from Kakadu National Park.