From 1 July 2027, new 70 Series LandCruisers can count toward Toyota's emissions average under the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES). The federal Infrastructure Minister made the change on 17 September 2026, and every 70 Series supplied before that date stays outside the scheme for good. These facts are current as of September 2026.
The 70 Series has been declared dead more times than any vehicle on the Australian market, and it's outlived every one of those obituaries since it arrived here in 1985. This time there's a signed legal instrument with a date on it, so it's worth knowing exactly what it does and what it doesn't.
What changes on 1 July 2027
The NVES has been law since 1 January 2025. It doesn't ban any vehicle. It gives each importer a fleet average CO2 target, and utes and heavy 4WDs sit in their own Type 2 category with a softer one. That headline limit was 210 grams per kilometre in 2025, is 180 this year, drops to 150 in 2027 and reaches 110 in 2029.
Until now, anything over 3500kg GVM has been exempt, because Australia had no CO2 test for heavier vehicles. Every 70 Series is rated at 3510kg, so ten kilograms has kept the whole range out while the HiLux counts today. A new test rule, ADR 114/00, arrived in May 2026 and covers vehicles from 3501kg to 3855kg GVM.
The new determination, registered on 22 September 2026 and in force from 1 January 2027, removes the exemption for vehicles in that band from the end of 30 June 2027. Consultation ran from 21 May to 20 July 2026. Five submissions came in, several raised the impact on people who need heavier vehicles for work, and the government made no changes. Anything over 3855kg stays exempt until the end of 2029.
What it costs Toyota
Each vehicle a brand supplies adds or subtracts the gap between its CO2 figure and its target. A brand that finishes a year over target can cancel the shortfall with credits it earns or buys. If it's still over at final reconciliation, the regulator issues an infringement notice at $50 per gram per kilometre per vehicle. If that goes to court, the Act allows up to $100.
Toyota starts from a strong position. In the first reporting period, from 1 July to 31 December 2025, it supplied 115,504 covered vehicles and generated 2,890,625 credits. Nineteen of the 59 brands in the scheme finished over target. Toyota wasn't one of them.
No 70 Series has an ADR 114/00 CO2 figure yet, so any per-vehicle cost you see quoted right now is an estimate. What's certain is that each new 70 Series supplied from July 2027 would draw on Toyota's credit balance rather than sit outside the sum.
What it means for your 70 Series
If you already own one, nothing changes. The scheme counts new vehicles at the point of supply, and it never touches registration, running costs or resale of a vehicle already on the road.
If you're ordering a new one, the date that matters is 30 June 2027. Anything supplied up to the end of that day keeps its exempt status for life, even if it was built to the new test. The practical risk for buyers is a price rise or a shorter order window closer to that date, and Toyota hasn't announced either.
The V8 is the closest guide to how this plays out. Toyota ended V8 production for the 76 wagon, the Troopy and the WorkMate and GX pick-ups in September 2024, and kept building 79 Series GXL V8 single and double cabs into 2025. It said the decision was inevitable due to changing regulations and community expectations. The range carried on with the four cylinder and gained a five speed manual. What happened to V8 prices afterwards is worth reading next, and it's the clearest picture of how the used market reacts when supply tightens.
What isn't confirmed yet
ADR 114/00 exempts medium goods vehicles that meet its work van or work vehicle length tests. For a vehicle with one row of seats, the goods body has to exceed 60 per cent of its total length, and for two or more rows it's 50 per cent. A cab chassis sold without a tray is measured with the maximum rear overhang the design rules allow.
On that wording, the 79 single cab has the best case for an exemption and the 76 wagon has little chance. The double cab and the Troopy are harder to call. Toyota hasn't said which 70 Series variants, if any, it will certify as exempt, or what CO2 figures the others will carry.
The determination can also still be disallowed by either house of Parliament during its scrutiny period. We'll update this article when Toyota confirms how the range is classified.
Sources: NVES Amendment (NVES Integration Date) Determination 2026 and its explanatory statement · ADR 114/00 Carbon Dioxide Emissions Measurement · New Vehicle Efficiency Standard Act 2024 · NVES Regulator: penalties and 2025 results · Toyota Australia on the V8
