The Toyota Land Cruiser LC300 is a luxury SUV that is consistently one of the most “resilient” models in the Vietnamese market, with customers willing to pay a sky-high price to receive the car early. Since its launch in mid-2021, the demand for the LC300 has been increasing. At its peak, customers had to pay an additional 1.8 billion VND – equivalent to the price of a Mercedes-Benz C200 – to purchase the accompanying accessories in order to receive the car early.
The Toyota Land Cruiser LC300 is a model that is frequently associated with the need to buy “beer with crackers”, with an exorbitantly high price in Vietnam.
Even in 2023, when car prices had to be reduced to stimulate consumer demand due to the uncertain economic situation, Toyota dealerships still maintained the price difference for this large-sized SUV. Some dealerships reduced the price difference, but it was still at a “discounted” rate of around 400-450 million VND/car.
The official list price of the car is 4.286 billion VND. However, when contacted recently, several Toyota dealerships in Hanoi stated that the Land Cruiser LC300 is currently available in stock. However, in order to complete the order, customers need to pay an additional 650 million VND for the price difference of the 2023 VIN number version. Toyota Land Cruiser’s 650 million VND “price difference” is equivalent to the list price of some B-segment SUV models such as the Hyundai Creta (640 million VND) or the recently launched Mitsubishi Xforce (620 million VND).
“For the 2024 VIN number version of the Land Cruiser LC300, the dealers are still accepting pre-orders but the “beer with crackers” cost will be higher, around 800-900 million VND for accessories. If the customers meet the requirements and make the payment early in February, they will receive the car in early April,” said one salesperson.
Another salesperson stated that currently no dealerships have new Land Cruiser LC300 cars available for immediate delivery at a price difference below 500 million VND.
After purchasing the accompanying accessories, the price of a 2024 LC300 will exceed 5 billion VND. This price makes the LC300 the most expensive luxury SUV compared to its competitors in the same segment, such as the Mercedes-Benz GLE (4.409 billion VND), BMW X5 (4.119-4.699 billion VND), Volvo XC90 (3.99-6.49 billion VND), or Audi Q7 (3.34-3.89 billion VND).
Experts explained that the frequent price differences at Toyota dealerships for the Toyota Land Cruiser 300 Series are due to the fact that this model is imported as a whole from Japan. The assembly plant in Japan supplies Land Cruiser for many markets, with high global demand, while the number of cars allocated to Vietnam is limited.
It is worth noting that since its launch in Vietnam in 2021, the Toyota Land Cruiser 300 Series has had its suggested retail prices adjusted 3 times, from 4.06 billion VND to the current 4.286 billion VND. In 2023, this model received a minor upgrade from the Japanese automaker, with new 20-inch alloy wheels replacing the previous 18-inch ones, an ionizer for the air conditioning system, a head-up display (HUD), and an active safety package with additional features for parking safety.
Not only do customers have to buy the car with “beer and crackers”, but they also only receive 1 key instead of 2.
According to Giao Thong News, the Land Cruiser LC300 is currently so scarce that when it is delivered to customers, they only receive one key instead of the usual two. The reason is determined to be due to a shortage of key blanks, leading to the temporary inability to deliver the standard number of keys to customers. The car manufacturer will deliver one key along with the car first, and the remaining key will be delivered as soon as possible. According to the report, some customers have had to wait up to 6 months after receiving the car before receiving the second key.
