At the upcoming Auto Expo 2025, Toyota will showcase the much-anticipated Land Cruiser Prado, which is set to launch in India later this year. Meanwhile, Toyota's luxury arm, Lexus, will display two eye-catching concepts. Let’s take a closer look at what to expect from these Japanese carmakers.
Toyota Land Cruiser Prado
The star attraction at Toyota’s stall will be the new Land Cruiser Prado. It will slot below the Land Cruiser 300 in Toyota’s India line-up. This one is more focused on off-roading, with increased wheel articulation, a disconnecting front anti-roll bar, a two-speed transfer case and locking centre and rear differentials.
The Prado also looks a lot more rugged with neo-retro design cues. It majors in practicality, durability, and dependability. Inside, the Prado shares much of its switchgear and equipment with the LC300, but it gets more hard-wearing materials and a rugged design to suit its use case. It will be brought to India as a CBU and will likely retain the 2.8-litre 48V mild-hybrid diesel engine that it gets in international markets. In a non-hybrid guise, the same engine already does duty in the Fortuner in India.
Toyota globally debuted the production-spec Urban Cruiser EV recently, which has been co-developed with Suzuki and is a sibling to the Maruti e Vitara. While an India debut was expected at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo, Toyota will likely skip it to avoid overshadowing its Suzuki counterpart, which will be present at the show. However, Toyota could display some other concepts from its global portfolio, such as the FT-3e SUV concept and the FT-Se sports car concept.
Lexus LF-ZC concept
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Lexus will showcase the LF-ZC concept, which is meant to preview a premium electric saloon that’s due for a launch in 2026. The LF-ZC is designed to be modular, and the batteries are said to be located in the middle of the car, giving more freedom to the front and rear structures. That should make it suitable for different sizes as well as powertrain layouts, including single-motor and dual-motor configurations. Lexus says the top-spec version of the LF-ZC will offer a range of over 1,000km when it goes into production. The concept also showcases Lexus’s latest design language – it’s very edgy, but Lexus says it is focused on aerodynamic optimisation. Inside, there is a steering yoke with steer-by-wire technology, while the main controls are spread across the cockpit area on a number of digital pads.
Lexus ROV concept
The other concept, perhaps the whackier of the two, will be the hydrogen-powered concept buggy called the ROV. It is Lexus’ take on an all-terrain vehicle, with some of the brand’s signature styling elements in a compact and rugged body style. The ROV has an open cockpit that’s heavily donned with carbon fibre, and it also features a single-piece instrument cluster. While two concepts will adorn Lexus’ ‘Future Zone’, the brand is expected to showcase its existing line-up in the ‘Hybrid Zone’. It will also have a ‘Lifestyle Zone’.
Uday Singh
Dipan Sur
Glenn Noronha
Viraaj Bhatnagar
