By Shota Mizuno

Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

Toyota Motor Corp. on Monday announced it will categorize Century, the Japanese automaker's top-of-the-line car, as a standalone brand. It will be positioned as the top-tier brand above the luxury brand Lexus.

Toyota is now developing a new coupe model for Century, which already has sedan and sports utility vehicle versions, the automaker said.

The automaker revealed the plan on its media channel on Monday. A prototype of an orange Century coupe will be exhibited at the Japan Mobility Show, which kicks off later this month.

"It will be a (standalone) brand," Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda said on the media channel. "It's not Lexus, not Toyota. We need a model above them."

Century's sedan model was released in 1967 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sakichi Toyoda, founder of the Toyota group. The model was aimed at customers who would utilize chauffeurs. The SUV version was added in 2023.

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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.

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October 14, 2025 20:01 ET (00:01 GMT)

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