Toyota has filed a trademark application for something called the Land Hopper in Japan. It’s unknown on what vehicle the mysterious moniker will appear, but the recent 2024 Land Cruiser presentation may offer some clues.
The trademark filing fell into the “vehicles” category and was spotted by users on the Land Cruiser Forum. This led to speculation that it might apply to one of the vehicles shown in silhouette on screen during the Land Cruiser presentation. The image appears at the 18:39 mark of the video, in which three vehicles can be seen in profile.
On the left is a short-wheelbase SUV that resembles a shortened Land Cruiser. Toyota has built in prior generations shorter, two-door versions of the Land Cruiser Prado, which is the predecessor of the U.S. market’s 2024 Land Cruiser (the Prado suffix was dropped). This particular one almost looks like it could be an FJ Cruiser successor.
The vehicle on the right appears to be a large, possibly 3-row crossover. The distinct flat bodywork where a grille would normally go indicates it might have battery-electric motivation. It almost looks like a modified bZ4X.
However, one user pointed out that the trademark category includes motorcycles and bicycles too. That points to the vehicle in the center, which looks like an off-road electric bike of some sort. Land Hopper would be the perfect name for something like that.
In his speech, Chief Branding Officer Simon Humphries said, “This future could mean anything, from carbon-neutral approaches to ensuring the Land Cruiser brand is more affordable and within reach of even more people around the world. Or it may even mean exploring new approaches to mobility that enhance not only the Land Cruiser experience, but also further people’s freedom in motion.”
A foldable electric bike might be the perfect companion to the Land Cruiser. It might even be designed to fit in to the cargo area, like Honda did with the Motocompo in the 1980s.
It wasn’t mentioned in the forum post, but on the same day Toyota also filed a trademark for the name Tazuna in Japan. From as far as we can tell, the word means “bridle” in Japanese. What kind of vehicle it might apply to is anyone’s guess.
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Source: www.autoblog.com