Toyota SA keen on new Land Cruiser 300 Hybrid

The new 341 kW Toyota Land Cruiser 300 Hybrid is on Toyota South Africa Motors‘ wish list, with the automaker’s local division still awaiting approval from Japan…

The new Toyota Land Cruiser 300 Hybrid recently revealed in the Middle East is officially under consideration for South Africa, with the Japanese automaker’s local division putting up its hand for what is the most powerful version of the ladder-frame SUV yet.

Toyota South Africa Motors confirmed to Cars.co.za that it had “requested” the new Land Cruiser 300 Hybrid from Toyota Motor Corporation and was “still awaiting approval” from Japan. As such, no details on the timing of a potential local introduction are yet available.

*Note the UAE-spec model’s revised lower front-bumper design.*

Already confirmed for Middle Eastern markets like the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar as well as right-hand-drive market Australia (where it’s due to debut in the opening half of 2026), the new HEV-badged version of the J300-series Land Cruiser is described as a “performance hybrid”.

From what we can tell, the new Land Cruiser 300 Hybrid employs precisely the same “1MT-HEV” powertrain as the closely related Lexus LX 700h, which hit Mzansi in February 2025. This set-up features an electric motor generator with a clutch positioned between the twin-turbo 3.4-litre V6 petrol unit and the 10-speed automatic transmission.

*Toyota’s latest HEV badge on the UAE-spec Land Cruiser 300’s tailgate.*

Judging by the specifications listed on Toyota’s UAE and Qatar websites, this parallel hybrid arrangement delivers the same peak system outputs – coming in at 341 kW and 790 Nm – in the new Land Cruiser 300 Hybrid as it does in the LX 700h. We suspect the 1.87 kWh nickel-metal hydride battery pack is carried over unchanged, too.

According to Toyota’s Australian division, the new hybrid powertrain delivers “impressive smoothness and seamless performance on- or off-road” and has been “extensively tested in the world’s harshest environments, including the deserts and mountains of the Middle East, to ensure rugged durability befitting a Land Cruiser”.

*In the UAE, the “457 TT” badges denote the horsepower output and the engine’s twin-turbo set-up*.

Interestingly, the Middle Eastern version of the new Land Cruiser 300 Hybrid adopts a subtly revised lower front-bumper design, with the UAE-spec furthermore gaining “457 TT” badges (pointing to this model’s horsepower output as well as its twin-turbo set-up) on its front doors and Toyota’s latest “HEV” badge on its tailgate. However, the version for Qatar features only “HEV” badging on its front portals.

As a reminder, the Land Cruiser 300 hit the market in South Africa in September 2021, offered with either a 3.3-litre turbodiesel V6 engine (225 kW/700 Nm) or a 3.4-litre turbopetrol V6 (305 kW/650 Nm) across 3 trim levels (GX-R, ZX and GR-Sport).

*The Qatari-spec Land Cruiser 300 HEV in GR-Sport guise.*

If the new Land Cruiser 300 Hybrid does receive the green light for SA, it’s not yet clear whether it will replace the standard V6 petrol powerplant (as this powertrain has done in local LX line-up) or simply be offered as an alternative to that motor and the popular turbodiesel unit.

Find a Land Cruiser 300 on Cars.co.za!