Toyota Motor is planning to stretch the average sales cycle of its flagship vehicles to nine years from the current seven, Nikkei Asia reported.
The move is part of a strategy that emphasises electrification and preserving product value through ongoing software updates.
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The approach prioritises software-defined vehicles, where new functions and performance improvements are delivered via software rather than by introducing new hardware in a fully remade model.
For Toyota, full redesigns used to arrive about every five years; the interval lengthened to about seven years as vehicle performance improved in the 2000s.
Toyota’s RAV4 is cited as being on a roughly seven-year cadence.
The company expects cycle lengths to differ by model. Its decision is being informed by sales dynamics.
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By GlobalDataStrong demand has produced extended delivery lead times and, in some cases, suspension of orders, as per the report.
The report also notes that the Land Cruiser can take several years from order to delivery, sometimes meaning customers receive a vehicle close to the next generation’s launch.
Extending the sales cycle is expected to create more chances for customers to purchase new vehicles and may help sustain stronger resale values by slowing the rate at which models depreciate.
Wholesale prices, which typically fall as models age, will be adjusted case by case to reflect each model and current sales conditions going forward.
Some of the Toyota-affiliated dealers in Japan, around 230 of which are independently run, have raised concerns that such changes could squeeze their margins.
Toyota has reportedly told that the average wholesale price over a nine-year cycle will not be altered.
Toyota intends to combine extended model cycles with regular software and feature updates to maintain vehicle value while still conducting occasional major redesigns that change exterior styling and other characteristics.
Unlike main models, Toyota models designed primarily for regions such as China will be developed to local market needs.
Other car manufacturers, such as Honda typically undertakes full model changes every six to seven years, Nissan sometimes approaches ten years, Tesla tends to refresh models every three to five years.
Some emerging Chinese brands update models far more frequently.
