2025 Land Cruiser Diesel Engine Availability

It seems that the diesel engine option is available for the 2025 Land Cruiser everywhere except North America. Did Toyota explain the reason behind this?

North America has stricter diesel emission regulations compared to the rest of the world, which makes it difficult for many diesel engines to be sold here.

As of now, the only new diesel-powered light-duty 2025 vehicles for sale in the United States are GM pickup trucks, according to the EPA. Not sure about Canada, though.

Austin said:
As of now, the only new diesel-powered light-duty 2025 vehicles for sale in the United States are GM pickup trucks, according to the EPA. Not sure about Canada, though.

Canada still has access to GM’s 3.0L inline-6 diesel for full-sized trucks. Also, I believe Mercedes still offers diesel-powered cargo vans.

Apart from that, diesel passenger vehicles are rare in North America.

Toyota hasn’t given an official statement, but they’ve never brought diesel Land Cruisers to North America in previous generations (80, 100, 200 Series).

If they were to issue a statement, it would likely be:

  • ‘The U.S. market prefers gasoline engines.’
  • ‘We don’t think diesel models would sell well.’
  • ‘Regulatory and cost barriers make it unfeasible.’

@Caden
Actually, Toyota has sold diesel vehicles in North America before.

Examples:

  • 1980s Toyota diesel pickups, Corollas, and even Camrys
  • Diesel Toyota models still available in Mexico
  • Other brands like VW, Mercedes, BMW, and even GM (Chevy Cruze, GMC Terrain) also offered diesel models in recent years.

So, it’s not unheard of—just increasingly rare.

@Amanda
The 1980s diesel boom failed because:

  1. Engines were weak & slow (many were non-turbo industrial diesels)
  2. Diesel fuel was scarce (mostly at truck stops)
  3. Poor fuel quality (designed for semi-trucks, not small diesels)
  4. Consumers were unfamiliar (treated them like gasoline engines, leading to reliability issues)

This made diesel cars unpopular, unlike in Europe where diesel was more widely accepted.

@Zeph
Good points! But some standout diesel models from that era still did well:

  • Mercedes 300 SD (lasted for hundreds of thousands of miles)
  • BMW 2.4L TD (used in 5-Series, Lincoln Mark VII, and even the Vixen motorhome)
  • Toyota’s 2L-T turbo diesel pickup trucks (still highly sought after by enthusiasts today)

The EPA’s strict emission rules require diesel vehicles to have:

  • Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR)
  • Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) systems
  • Advanced after-treatment systems
  • A mandatory 100,000-mile warranty on emissions components

Toyota has stated before that developing a U.S.-specific diesel emissions system isn’t cost-effective, as no other market requires such modifications. This is why we will never get Toyota diesels in the U.S.

Petrol is relatively cheap in the U.S., especially compared to Europe.

Since diesel engines are more expensive to produce and maintain, there’s less demand for them in the U.S. market.

The thing that killed the Land Cruiser for me was removing the third-row seat in the new model.

The Obama administration tightened diesel emissions regulations, and the Biden administration doubled down on them.

This is why VW, Audi, and Porsche stopped selling diesel models in the U.S. after 2016.

If Trump gets re-elected, maybe he’ll relax the restrictions and we’ll get diesel models again.