Toyota To Increase Its Models Lifespan To Nine Years

After decades in which key models changed in cycles of four to five years, and later in a rhythm of about seven years, Toyota is moving to an even slower pace. The new strategy sees the most important models get a completely new generation only every nine years.

Such a move is not the result of financial or sales problems but the result of the current market reality. Toyota has long struggled with demand outstripping production capacity, with models like the Land Cruiser facing years-long waiting lists. In other words, when customers are still standing in line, there is no reason to speed up new models whose development is expensive.

Instead of major changes to the body and platform, Toyota will increasingly use software upgrades in these extended cycles. The latest Camry, which is in fact a deep evolution of the previous generation, shows what that approach will look like in practice. The software allows the addition of new driving assistance features, performance enhancements, and even activation of options via subscription. In addition, Toyota expects that such a model will affect the slower decline in the value of used cars, allowing it to offer buyers a higher value over a longer period.

An extended life cycle will also provide a more stable market supply. It will be easier for customers to get the versions they want, and the models will stay current for longer, which is extremely important in times of disrupted supply chains and large fluctuations in demand.

Toyota is also considering changes to its wholesale pricing policy, which traditionally falls as a model ages. In the new philosophy, prices should adjust more to actual demand than to model calendar years. However, not everyone agrees with this plan. Some of Japan’s 230 or so independent retailers fear dynamic pricing could squeeze their margins. Toyota, however, maintains that average wholesale prices will remain stable through the projected nine-year cycle.

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