- Japan’s Prime Minister was spotted with a new ride.
- Sanae Takaichi traded her Century sedan for an SUV.
- The model features a black livery and strobe lights.
The ride of a country’s president or prime minister has to be relevant to local automakers, and Japan is lucky on that front because Toyota’s Century sub-brand builds exactly the right kind of car for the job. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has just traded her Century sedan for a new Century SUV, keeping the tradition of the phoenix badge alive.
The vehicle turned up in Tokyo a few days ago. Local media tracked it carrying Takaichi from her official residence to the National Diet Building and out to Haneda Airport, trailed as always by a small fleet of previous-generation Lexus LS sedans running security.
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The PM’s new Century SUV wears full black and skips the two-tone paint that usually defines the model. Blue identification lights and strobes sit behind the black grille, and there’s an auxiliary mirror up front. It rides on multi-spoke alloys wrapped in thick-walled tires, and the glass and panels almost certainly hide some degree of armor.
Japanese media, citing government records, report the previous car had hit its predetermined mileage cap and was due for replacement. The SUV takes over from the third-generation Century sedan that entered service in April 2020, back when the late Shinzo Abe still held office.
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As reported by Response, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said that “we have been replacing vehicles while taking into consideration their condition and other factor,” but declined to disclose the exact procurement cost or the specifications of this particular government unit, citing national security concerns. The passenger version currently starts at ¥27 million (around $167,100 at current rates) in the Japanese market.
If you’re wondering about the reason behind the switch from sedan to SUV, Japan’s Prime Minister likely chose the high-riding model for the easier ingress and egress, the extra headroom, and the electrified powertrain.
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The Century SUV sits on the TNGA-K architecture, with a 3.5-liter V6 plug-in hybrid setup producing a combined 400 hp (299 kW / 406 PS). Drive reaches all four wheels through an e-CVT gearbox and Toyota’s E-Four AWD system, and the 21.3 kWh battery covers up to 69 km (43 miles) of zero-emission range between charges.
