By TAKURO CHIBA/ Staff Writer
June 11, 2021 at 17:20 JST
To mark the 70th anniversary of the birth of the iconic SUV Land Cruiser, Toyota Motor Corp. will roll out a new model for the first time in 14 years.
Toyota made the announcement on June 10.
The sixth version of the Land Cruiser will be lighter and have a lower center of gravity than past models, but will continue with the sport utility vehicle's rugged tradition of handling all types of road conditions.
A new body frame was designed to make the latest model about 200 kilograms lighter than previous ones. The suspension has also been improved so the tires can continue to grip the road regardless of the treacherous weather conditions.
A new function will be added to allow the vehicle to automatically select the driving mode based on the road conditions.
The new model will go on sale worldwide from this summer, but the price and fuel mileage are still unknown.
The Land Cruiser name was first used in 1954, but its predecessor model went on sale in 1951.
In addition to the SUV Land Cruiser, a Land Cruiser Prado designed for urban roads has also been marketed.
About 300,000 vehicles are sold annually in about 170 nations and regions. In 2019, the accumulated sales of the Land Cruiser series surpassed 10 million.
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