Did Toyota really just say 'no' to two of its most famous nameplates for Australia in 2024?

Speaking to CarsGuide at the launch of the HiLux GR Sport, Toyota's local division said it had no interest in trading out its slow-selling Granvia for the more luxurious and hybrid-driven Alphard people mover, nor did it see space in its line-up for the brand's flagship Crown sedan and crossover.

Speaking on the topic of Alphard, now that Lexus will homologate the same chassis for its version of the car, the Lexus LM, Toyota Australia's Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Sean Hanley said the Granvia would still persist as the only people mover in the big T's line-up.

"Not at this stage. We have Granvia, a good product in and of itself, Lexus will have the LM which will sit in that line-up," he said.

"It gets down to our fit-for-purpose strategy - we're more focused on our SUV line-up.

"There's no plans beyond that. The market size [of that segment] also comes into play."

The luxury people mover market is set to heat up in the coming years, with the arrival of not only the Lexus LM (from a whopping $160,888 before on-road costs), and also the incoming Volvo EM90, but mainstream rivals are also outranking Toyota.

The segment-leader year-to-date, by a huge margin with 7622 sales (accounting for 82 per cent of the segment people movers  below $70,000) is the Kia Carnival, followed by the Hyundai Staria at 824 units, and the Volkswagen Multivan at 511 units. In comparison, the expensive Granvia has moved just 81 units over the course of 2023, even being outranked by the Mercedes-Benz Vito.

Meanwhile, buyers flock to grey imported versions of the previous-generation Alphard, near-new examples of which fetch between $90,000 and $160,000. The previous model was powered by either a 2.5-litre four-cylinder hybrid or 3.5-litre V6, with the incoming replacement swapping the six-cylinder for a 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo.

Despite this, Hanley remained confident that factory-backing the new version wasn't the right move for the brand.

"Any kind of spike in demand engages us quickly. We look at market segment, size, and right now a people mover is not in our best interest," he said.

The same story applies to the 2024 Toyota Crown, which is offered as a global export model for the first time. The brand's flagship model has been split into several variations, including a crossover, sedan, as well as ‘sport' and ‘estate' versions which are both shaped more like SUVs.

The same story applies to the 2024 Toyota Crown, which is offered as a global export model for the first time.

The Crossover version, which has been on sale in Japan since 2022 even shares a similar powertrain to the current Camry, a slick 2.5-litre hybrid set-up with the addition of another electrified axle to facilitate all-wheel drive, alongside a 2.4-litre hybrid turbo set-up present in other Toyota and Lexus models.

Hanley confirmed the Crown nameplate wasn't destined for Australia.

"It's a beautiful car [...] but it gets back to what's suitable for our market. We'd love to have everything, but it rationalizes down to what services our customers better, and the commercial realities, too," he said.

The brand’s flagship model has been split into several variations.

"There's no reason, certainly from a product perspective, but our line-up is well determined."

Indeed, Toyota already has one of the most expansive model line-ups in the industry, with 19 nameplates on the market. This range is set to expand by at least two in 2024 as the Japanese juggernaut looks to add the bZ4X electric mid-size SUV and Tundra pick-up to its roster, not to mention majorly updated versions of existing models like the C-HR, LandCruiser Prado and 70 Series and HiLux.