Toyota’s Flagship Century Will Challenge Bentley and Rolls-Royce in America

In 1990, Toyota challenged the fundamental rules of the automotive luxury establishment with the introduction of Lexus—a luxury brand aimed squarely at the likes of Mercedes-Benz and BMW, both of which had made extensive inroads into the U.S. market during the 1970s and ’80s. Thirty-five years later, Toyota’s gearing up to make a similar splash, and with even loftier aspirations this time around as it sets its eyes on the flagship luxury segment. Bentley, Rolls-Royce, and Maybach beware: The Century is coming to America.

Automotive News managed to confirm the story with Lexus this week amid the goings-on of what was once called the Tokyo Motor Show, now the Japan Mobility Show. And yes, despite being sold as a Toyota in its home market, the Century will slot in above the volume luxury market (BMW/Mercedes-Benz/Audi/Lexus/Acura/Genesis/Infiniti/etc.) and instead offer something for the bespoke crowd. And we should caution that while this is an official confirmation, Toyota doesn’t yet have a definitive timeline for introducing the nameplate to our market.

According to the employee quoted in the initial report, it could be years before you see a Century for sale in the United States, as Lexus will have to lay the sales and surface infrastructure groundwork necessary to support a new model line. That means both Lexus and its dealer network will have to lay out some cash up front.

While they will be sold in select Lexus dealerships, you won’t see the brand’s name or badging anywhere on the cars—or the paperwork for that matter. Why? Long story short: franchise laws. Digging into the nuances of it would require a law degree, but suffice it to say that demonstrating anything resembling favoritism within your dealer network is a fraught process. Just ask Hyundai how that went when it tried to launch Genesis.

Going after tier-one automotive brands is no easy task, but nobody manages a war chest quite like Toyota. We don’t expect a half-measure, but given the state of the world, it’s hard to predict what sort of sales environment the Century might encounter by the time it’s cleared for landing here in the U.S.

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