In June 2021, Toyota introduced the brand new Land Cruiser after what seemed like an eternity. The J200 model that was built since 2007, was finally replaced with the J300 built on the new Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) – F platform. Sales of the Land Cruiser worldwide have not been great as the trend for crossover style SUVs are more popular. So the new Land Cruiser J300 is only sold in its home country of Japan, Australia and the Middle East where there can’t get enough of it. Reportedly, the new Land Cruiser in Japan has already racked up over 22,000 pre-orders. However, Toyota is making their customers sign a fairly harsh agreement if they want to own a new Land Cruiser.
A report released by a Japanese publication – Creative311 suggests that Toyota dealers in Japan are requiring customers of the new Land Cruiser J300 to sign a fairly harsh contract. Should you wish to buy a new Land Cruiser J300, the contract will disallow you to resell the vehicle. It is suggested that the reselling restriction agreement is for at least the first 12 months from delivery, however, it is not officially mentioned. Should an owner be found to do so, they will be blacklisted from buying a new Toyota again, however, the tenure of the black listing is not specified at the moment. In addition, it is said that customers who are found to resell their vehicles may face some serious repercussions. Harsh penalties to dealers will also be imposed who will be found involved in the violation.
The pledge in Japanese as posted on Twitter
書いてます！！！ pic.twitter.com/KHNxFNJA0b
— SHIMA BASE@ランクル300GR-Sディーゼル納車待ち (@shimabase1) July 17, 2021
There are a few reasons for Toyota to be taking such a drastic measure. The initial reason is that since the Land Cruiser sales are restricted to a few regions and demand for it is still prevalent in other parts. So, Toyota wants to restrict people from flip (resell) the vehicles at a markup price. Additionally, Toyota is trying to only cater to customers who genuinely wish to buy them and use them by limiting one unit to a single client.
Secondly, Toyota feels that without this agreement, it is likely that it could fall into the hands of people they do not want to, leading to something that could threaten global security. The agreement states that reselling the vehicle could “risk violating foreign exchange law, and depending on the export destination, it may lead to problems that threaten global security”.
The Toyota Land Cruiser among some other Toyota models have been renowned for their dependability, ruggedness and bullet-proof reliability. There is a saying in the Middle East “You can enter the desert in anything car you like, but you come out in a Land Cruiser.”
We believe that with the agreement, Toyota is trying to restrict the Land Cruiser from finding itself in the hands of terrorists in different parts of the world. Something that has been the case with its other models, like the invincible Hilux pick-up truck. The agreement will mean that the vehicle cannot be resold or exported. However, when the SUV goes on sale in Australia, it is also being reported that this restriction will not be enforced by the dealers in that market.
Source: Creative311, Twitter
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