Hot New Luxo-Coupe Could Lead the New Toyota Century Brand
Akio Toyoda says Century will be a brand unto itself, positioned above Lexus.By Mark VaughnPublished: Oct 16, 2025 5:52 PM EDT
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- Toyota will show off a stylish new coupe concept under the Century brand at the Japan Mobility Show Oct. 31-Nov. 9.
- CEO Akio Toyoda also announced that Century will be a brand unto itself, stationed above Lexus in the company hierarchy.
- Sadly, no plans were announced to bring the brand or the coupe to the US.
This week, ahead of the Japan Mobility Show Oct. 31-Nov. 9, Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda introduced drawings of a new Century Coupe and then elevated the entire Century brand to a separate status, perched above Lexus in the company hierarchy.
The very stylish Century two-door coupe looks ready to compete with the likes of Bentleys and Rolls-Royces, at least from the drawings Toyota released early this week. The Century SUV, revealed at the same show in 2023, also carries the profile of Rolls-Royce Cullinan and/or Bentley Bentayga.
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As the Century brand moves upmarket, Akio Toyoda didn’t think it should share the same floorspace—at auto shows or in dealers—as Yarises and Corollas. So Morizo, as he’s known on racing grids, decreed that henceforth Century would be its own brand, outranking Lexus in luxury and perched high atop the new company hierarchy.
Chairman Toyoda—whom we last saw in the pits at the German ADAC 24-Hour Race where he was driving a GR Yaris—showed the rear-slung, square-nosed two-door in an Oct. 13 video discussing the company’s plans for the show.
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Orange is the new black.
“When we go higher-end, we need something above, not Lexus, nor Toyota,” Toyoda said. “And we have the Century. That is the position of the Century.”
The Century name has been around since the introduction of the first sedan in 1967. That car has had only two redesigns in the ensuing 58 years.
Unlike its potential competitors, the current sedan stickers for just $164,000 in Japan, a lot less than a Bentley or a Roller.
“When people think Century, the image is usually limited to black, to sedan,” Toyoda says in the vid. “This is orange, coupe. But it’s still a Century.”
“When we go higher-end, we need something above, not Lexus, nor Toyota.”
The flaming orange concept is anything but staid. But it’s also referred to in materials as “One of One,” meaning it could be just a concept. Or, depending on its reception at the show, it could go into production.
All this might be a moot point, at least for us, as neither Toyoda nor Toyota announced any plans to sell the Century line anywhere outside Japan, though it does sell the SUV in China.
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Total shipments of the sedan and crossover versions of the Century increased to 383 vehicles in 2024, from 175 in 2023, according to Automotive News. Toyota sold 195 from January through August. The crossover accounts for about 78 percent of all sales.
Toyoda the CEO took delivery of his own Century sedan in 2018, but reportedly asked for a driver.
“The Toyota chief engineer asked me before, when they were making a Century SUV, and I said to him, ‘Please think about a Century I can drive,’” Toyoda said. “That become the new Century.”
Here’s hoping for US sales of all three models.
