New Toyota Prado expected to climb back past Ford Everest

Toyota Australia is keen to reclaim the large SUV sales crown it will lose to the Ford Everest for the first time this year, and it’s well on the way with a solid order bank and an even bigger number of new-generation LandCruiser Prado 250 Series vehicles on their way Down Under in the next 12 months. Deliveries of the new fifth-generation Prado commenced earlier this month and the Japanese carmaker says it holds more than 17,000 orders. The 250 Series has a lot to live up to in terms of sales volume, as the now out-of-stock 150 Series it replaces had dominated the large SUV segment in Australia for years prior to its departure. 100s of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. However, this year has been a different story due to stock of the old Prado drying up several months ago, and the Ford Everest taking its place as the large SUV sales leader this year. When asked whether the Prado will once again become Australia’s most popular large SUV, Toyota Australia vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations Sean Hanley told CarExpert the first all-new Prado in 15 years is expected to do well from a sales perspective. “We’re very confident that the Prado will do well in the end,” said Mr Hanley. “We believe at Toyota that we put a really compelling, well specced, well packaged, four-wheel drive SUV in the market. “Prado, of course, has fantastic heritage and proven reliability, and it appeals particularly to families and those with a sense of lifestyle adventure. “You know it will sell its volume already. We’re seeing a very healthy order bank, and we expect it to do well on the market. Very well. “Whether it’s number one, customers will decide that, but we think it’s good enough to be certainly a market leader.” As recently reported, Toyota Australia says it will take delivery of almost 27,000 Prados in the first 12 months of 250 Series sales, which should result in a new record for the popular nameplate in 2025. The Prado’s current annual sales record of 21,299 deliveries was set in 2021. To the end of October 2024, only 3525 Prados – consisting mainly of the outgoing 150 Series and a handful of 250 Series vehicles – have been delivered. In contrast, 21,281 examples of the Ford Everest have been sold in the same period. This marks the first time the Prado has been outsold by the Everest, along with other direct competitors like the Isuzu MU-X and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport. But even with over 17,000 pre-orders, many 250 Series customers could wait several months for delivery, depending on when they placed their order. To avoid extreme wait times of up to three or even four years, as we saw with the RAV4 Hybrid and LandCruiser 70 Series, Toyota Australia has confirmed a new retailing policy that will prevent dealers taking open-ended orders amid high demand. Instead, the company will allocate each dealer a rolling 12-month supply of stock. Dealers won’t be able to take more Prado orders after they reach their stock threshold until more vehicles are allocated, and they will be discourage from taking deposits until then. Toyota Australia claims the new policy will give both dealers and customers a clearer and more accurate indication on the wait times. As a result of its revised order taking process, Toyota says the maximum wait time for a new Prado will be 12 months after an order is placed with a dealer. From launch, there are five variants in the 2025 Toyota LandCruiser Prado range – GX, GXL, VX, Altitude, and Kakadu. Pricing starts at $72,500 before on-roads for the GX, and extends to $99,990 before on-roads for the Kakadu. They are powered by the same 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine as the old 150 Series, this time fitted with 48-volt mild-hybrid assistance, although power and torque outputs remain the same at 150kW and 500Nm. The new Prado’s turbo-diesel engine is mated to a new eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission (up two ratios from the outgoing model) and a two-speed transfer case, once again offering low-range gearing and sending power to all four corners via a full-time four-wheel drive system. MORE: Everything Toyota LandCruiser Prado