Toyota · 1967–present
Toyota Century
The Toyota Century (Japanese: トヨタ・センチュリー, Hepburn: Toyota Senchurī) is a line of full-size luxury cars and limousines produced mainly for the Japanese market, serving as Toyota's flagship car within Japan. Globally the unrelated Lexus brand houses Toyota's flagship luxury model. Production began in 1967, and the model received only minor changes until redesigns in 1997 and 2018. The Century derives its name from the 100th birthday of Sakichi Toyoda (born 14 February 1867), the founder of Toyota Industries. It is often used by the Imperial House of Japan, the Prime Minister of Japan, senior Japanese government leaders, and high-level executive businessmen. The Century is comparable in purpose to the Austin Princess/Daimler DS420, Cadillac Series 70, Mercedes-Maybach, Hongqi, Rolls-Royce Phantom, and Russian ZIL limousines. The first-generation Century was available with only a V8 engine (the third post-war Japanese-built sedan so-equipped) at its introduction in 1967 until a full platform redesign in 1997. The second generation was only installed with a Toyota-designed and -built V12, an engine bespoke to the Century, until 2018, when the power-train reverted to a V8 with the addition of Toyota's hybrid technology. While the Century is a full-size luxury sedan, it is not available at Japanese Lexus dealerships; it can only be purchased at specifically identified Toyota Store locations. The Century does not feature Toyota's typical oval logo on any of its badges; instead, it uses a phoenix logo unique to the Century. The gold phoenix logo is called the Hō'ō (鳳凰) or Fushichō (不死鳥) from Sinospheric mythology, representing the Imperial House of Japan, and the image can be found throughout Asia, such as the Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto. The appearance of a black-painted Century is iconic in Asian countries, perceived to denote conservative success. As such, while the model has received some modifications, its external styling has remained largely consistent since introduction. The closest Japanese competitor was the Nissan President, with a similar status reputation although, during the 1960s and 1970s, the high market positioning was also shared with the Mitsubishi Debonair. In the 1970s, two other Japanese competitors introduced large sedans — the Isuzu Statesman de Ville and the Mazda Roadpacer (both derived from Holden products) — which were short-lived. The Century nameplate introduced the SUV body style in 2023. The nameplate was spun off into a separate brand in 2025.
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Generations & variants
Photos
UK vehicles on the road
33 licensed and 23 SORN (56 total) at 2025 Q4.
| Year (latest quarter) | Vehicles |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 8 |
| 2015 | 10 |
| 2016 | 8 |
| 2017 | 10 |
| 2018 | 13 |
| 2019 | 16 |
| 2020 | 20 |
| 2021 | 23 |
| 2022 | 27 |
| 2023 | 34 |
| 2024 | 43 |
| 2025 | 56 |
DfT/DVLA VEH0120 vehicle licensing statistics, source ↗, Open Government Licence v3.0. Small counts are rounded or suppressed at source.
Sources
- Wikidata / Wikipedia profiles — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/cars/Q1165401CC0 / CC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_CenturyCC BY-SA 4.0 · Intro text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1377994206 · retrieved 2026-10-03
- DfT/DVLA VEH0120 licensing statistics — https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/vehicle-licensing-statistics-data-tablesOpen Government Licence v3.0
- Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.