Toyota imagines the futuristic Land Cruiser EV it won’t sell you
Toyota is on a roll with EV concepts at this year’s Japan Mobility Show, and the latest has to be among the highest on its customer request list: an electrified Land Cruiser SUV. The Land Cruiser Se concept is as straightforward a look into what a BEV version of the iconic off-roader might look like as Toyota has ever given, and it’s nice!
The concept images do look quite rudimentary, though. The lines are clean to the point you might call them “sketched,” and it’s not even clear how the rear doors open (there are no immediately visible door pulls). In fact, this thing doesn’t even look like a Land Cruiser if you ask me. The silhouette of this battery-powered trail daddy (yeah, I said it) is still pretty utilitarian — the hood on this thing is enormous. Hopefully, Toyota’s imaginary electric SUV has a frunk as deep as the skepticism you should bring to the notion the company will be selling anything like this any time soon.
The only real technical detail Toyota even offers about the Land Cruiser Se is that it uses a “monocoque body” — which sounds very expensive for a mass-market three-row SUV. But the term itself is vague enough that it’s impossible to know what Toyota really means by it in the first place. (Is it a true tub chassis, or does Toyota mean something else?)
There’s no look at the inside of the Land Cruiser Se, which is probably the biggest giveaway that this is a very early concept (maybe Toyota will surprise with a full interior on the show floor, though). But it’s fun to dream, right?
I think what’s most interesting about this design is how little it resembles the next-generation ICE Land Cruiser. Like at all. That vehicle is unforgivingly boxy and clearly pulls on the retro-nostalgia heartstrings of buyers. This electric concept is from a completely different design school that pays zero homage to the heritage of the badge — which is by no means a bad thing. This concept, if perhaps unrealistically spartan, asks what the Land Cruiser of the future looks like. And that’s what a concept should do, right?
But given the philosophical and aesthetic distance between the Land Cruiser of the now and the electric Land Cruiser envisioned here, that says to me that we really are just looking at one possible future, presumably among many.
You can check out the press release (which includes several other, less exciting concepts) here.
Electrek’s Take
Toyota has so many EV concepts at this point that it’s difficult to keep track of just what the brand’s latest vision for electrification is. Meanwhile, it has just a couple EVs actually on sale. It’s clear that there’s an intention at Toyota to move toward a BEV future, but concepts like the Land Cruiser Se may do more to confuse customers than inspire them about the brand’s direction.
An electrified Land Cruiser, of course, makes total sense. It seems inevitable that Toyota will build one. The question is when? While cool, this concept does nothing to answer that.
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Chevron is not seeing signs that the U.S. is close to a recession even as President Donald Trump’s tariffs weigh on expectations for oil demand, CEO Mike Wirth said Tuesday.
“There’s no signs that we see at this point that we are in or close to a recession,” Wirth told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “There are signs that growth may be slowing and we have to always be prepared for that.”
The International Monetary Fund on Monday cut its growth outlook for the U.S. this year to 1.8%, down from 2.7% previously.
The oil market is expecting reduced demand as a consequence of Trump’s tariffs and the decision by OPEC+ increase production faster than expected, Wirth said. Chevron isn’t changing its capital spending plans in response to drop in prices, the CEO said.
U.S. crude oil prices have fallen about 11% since Trump announced his tariffs on April 2. West Texas Intermediate was last up about 72 cents at $63.80 per barrel. OPEC and the International Energy Agency have cut their demand outlooks for this year.
Wirth said U.S. onshore oil production in patches like the Permian Basin is likely to pull back if prices hit $60 per barrel. Offshore production likely won’t be affected, he said.
“That’s an area where if we were to be at a $60 price or even lower you’re likely to see activity pull back in this sector and you’ll see the production response over a few months,” Wirth said. “That’s what we should watch, not so much the deep water activity.”
Chevron is not expecting a major direct impact on its business from Trump’s tariffs as energy has largely been exempt from the levies, Wirth said.
“The effects that we feel are likely to be more the macroeconomic effects as they flow through the economy,” Wirth said. “The bigger issues would be what would it mean for growth, and global trade and how does that evolve.”
Executives at oil and gas companies were scathing in their criticism of Trump’s tariffs in an anonymous March survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, warning that steel tariffs were raising their costs and low prices could impact their activity.
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Little is known about super-secretive EV startup Slate, but the fledgling brand is rumored to be backed by Jeff Bezos and determined to shake up the existing electric order with an affordable lineup of compact SUVs and pickups with that golden $25,000 price tag.
Now, at least, we know what it’s gonna look like. The battle of the billionaires is on!
Redditor jonjopop over at the spotted subreddit spotted what looks like an early prototype of an unbranded SUV with bizarre “CryShare” wrap. CryShare, as a concept, seems to combine the functionality of a ride sharing app like Uber or Lyft with the familiar (to parent, anyway) idea that small babies will often sleep better in a moving car than in their own cribs … but that’s not what’s important here.
Instead, focus on the vehicle itself – parked on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Los Angeles without explanation or fanfare, this is our best look yet at the kind of vehicle(s) Slate is likely to reveal in the coming days.
Stumbled upon the Bezosmobile [Slate Automotive…idk?] being revealed with an absolutely bizarre marketing campaign
byu/jonjopop inspotted
Other local automotive journalists caught wind of the public unveiling, too – and our friends at The Autopian (Hi, Matt!) sent their own David Tracy out on the streets of LA to check it out. Tracy took the following video and posted it to Instagram.
The Slate breaking cover and causing buzz just ahead of what’s sure to be a painful Q1 earnings call for Tesla is a masterstroke of marketing – especially as doubts surrounding the viability of a “less expensive” Tesla Model Y or Model 3 continue to mount amid the uncertainty of Trump’s tariffs and declining sales of the brand’s more profitable models both at home and abroad.
As with so much involving Slate, however, there is nothing here written in stone – or even cast in cheese. Nothing has been announced, nothing is promised, and for all we know this might have more to do with the affordable Rivian brand launch, a new BYD, or be a viral marketing bit from some local Art Center design student in (relatively) nearby Pasadena. In fact, about the only thing I think we can say about Bezos (?) new Slate project with confidence today is this: Elon could probably use that drink.
SOURCES | IMAGES: Reddit, The Autopian.
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