The most opulent range of cars from Toyota could come to Australian showrooms as part of a global expansion.
The flag-bearer of the Japanese automotive industry – hand-built Century luxury cars from Toyota – is under study for Australia as a rival to Bentley and Rolls-Royce.
Toyota used this week's Tokyo motor show to spin its most prestige cars off into their own brand that is planned for global sale, rather than exclusive to Japan, where they are chauffeur-driven favourites among politicians and businesspeople.
Prices in Japan start from $200,000 for the sedan and $265,000 for the SUV, so once Australia's Luxury Car Tax is added – as well as customisation for each vehicle – the Century models could become $300,000 propositions locally.
It would push the maker of the RAV4 and HiLux into rarefied air at the top end of the car market, a step above its current prestige brand, the BMW and Mercedes-Benz rivalling Lexus marque.
Lexus Australia CEO John Pappas told media at the Tokyo show that official sales of the hand-built, high-end cars are being considered.
"We have no firm plan right now to bring Century into Australia, but we are currently studying whether we believe the Century brand has a place in the Australian market to complement the Lexus brand, because Lexus is the luxury brand in the Toyota family in Australia.
"The Century brand ... is obviously the pinnacle of the brands [globally], a handmade, fully-crafted vehicle, and it's very, very small [volume] because it's handmade – it's literally like, hardly any cars are being produced on a daily basis, right, because of the craftsmanship.
"If we saw an opportunity where we felt like this would sit within our market, in order to complement the Lexus brand and the whole Toyota family, we'd definitely be looking at it."
He said discussions around the Century brand remain in an early stage, and that other Toyota markets around the world are now also considering whether to sell the marque in their region.
"There needs to be a lot of water to go under this bridge. There needs to be a lot of work done to understand this feasibility perspective, whether it's feasibility from a product, an experience, whatever it may be," Pappas told media.
"And then when we're ready to make that call, obviously together with people in headquarters over here in Japan, then we'll make those necessary announcements."
Pappas was coy on whether Century cars would be sold through Lexus dealers or their own showrooms, as well as when a decision will be made on the marque for Australia.
"[When] you see those types of vehicles, you get pretty emotionally connected, and you feel 'wow' like you know, you think 'yep, bring them in because they look absolutely stunning'," said the Lexus Australia executive.
"But we need to make sure we're very rational about the why, and then how we're going to do this."
Toyota Australia sales and marketing boss Sean Hanley was more willing to draw on the emotional connection he felt to the Century brand.
"Yeah, I think so, I think there's a buyer for Century in Australia. It probably sits well above the Toyota brand though, I would suggest, but yeah, I do," Hanley told media.
"It was just such a statement of intent and confidence, and it just showed everything this company can do," the executive said of the reveal of the spun-off Century brand and its new coupe concept at the Tokyo show.
"The limits are boundless now, and I just love the way our chairman [Akio Toyoda] just embraces this."
Century is most widely associated with its line of high-end luxury sedans favoured by Japan's richest and most powerful, launched in 1967 and most recently treated to a new generation in 2017.
It has since expanded to an SUV, which swaps the sedan's rear-wheel-drive V8 hybrid – itself introduced to replace a V12 – for an all-wheel-drive V6 plug-in hybrid derived from the Toyota Kluger family SUV.
A Century coupe concept revealed at the Tokyo show wears sliding side doors that open to a chauffeur-focused cabin, with the front passenger seat removed for walk-in access to the second row.
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
