The 2023 Japan Mobility Show has come and gone, and while Toyota did unveil the rumored Land Hopper, it wasn't the FJ Cruiser revival we had hoped it would be. It took the shape of a three-wheeled electric mobility concept for people aged 16 or older to tackle the urban jungle. Fast forward to today, we might now have an idea of how the baby off-roader will be ultimately named, courtesy of a new trademark filing in Japan.
Published on the Japanese trademark website "Chizai Watch" where it was discovered by someone from the Land Cruiser Forum is news of a "Land Cruiser FJ" trademark. Toyota submitted its application on October 27 in Class 12, which is reserved for "vehicles; apparatus for locomotion by land, air or water,” according to an official document published on the Japanese government's website (see PDF).
When an automaker takes legal measures to secure the rights to a name, it doesn't necessarily mean it'll actually use it for a production model. However, Toyota has seemingly teased the Land Cruiser FJ already. In early August when the U.S.-bound 2024 Land Cruiser 250 (aka Land Cruiser Prado in other markets) was unveiled, the event ended with shadowy profiles of two SUVs in the background. The one on the right turned out to be the electric Land Cruiser concept we saw at the Japan Mobility Show last week while the one on the left with the tailgate-mounted spare tire hasn't been introduced.
Toyota might've provided a first glimpse at the smaller off-roader way back in late 2021 when it showed the Compact Cruiser concept pictured below. All these signs point to a reboot of the FJ Cruiser, not long after its demise. The model bowed out of the United States after the 2014 model year, but it remained in production until a few months ago when the last example of the Final Edition for the Middle East was assembled. Yes, the FJ Cruiser was in production for a whopping 17 years.
It sure looks as though Toyota wants to turn the Land Cruiser into a family of models, much like the Crown now has four members while the Century has two. Logic tells us the already available Land Cruiser 250 and 300 models are likely to be joined by that purely electric variant and this smaller derivative. The latter is said to get gasoline and hybrid powertrains while having roughly the same size as the Corolla Cross but with body-on-frame architecture.
Nothing is official at this point, but Japan's Best Car magazine wrote a while ago the FJ Cruiser revival will use a shortened GA-F architecture. Later in the life cycle, there might be a fully electric variant but take these details with the proverbial pinch of salt.
Toyota wouldn't be the first automaker to use an iconic name intended for off-roaders on a downsized vehicle as Ford has the Bronco Sport while Mercedes is plotting a "Little G."
