Toyota Motor Corporation says the Land Cruiser has achieved a new milestone: surpassing the 10 million cumulative global sales mark since the first model was launched. It’s only fitting that the Land Cruiser achieved this feat last August 31—68 years since the first-ever Toyota “Jeep BJ” was launched on August 1, 1951.
The Land Cruiser is Toyota’s longest-selling car and helped shape the Japanese carmaker’s reputation for reliability, durability, and drivability even on poor roads.
Full-scale exports of the Land Cruiser began with the 20 Series, which was introduced in November 1955, four years after the launch of the first-generation car. In the beginning, fewer than 100 units were exported per year; by 1965, 10 years after full-scale exports commenced, that figure had surpassed 10,000 units per year. At present, the Land Cruiser is sold in approximately 170 countries and regions worldwide, with annual global sales standing at approximately 400,000 units.
The Land Cruiser is so synonymous with outstanding reliability and durability that there are regions where Land Cruiser 40 Series vehicles continue to be used today, some 50 years after they were manufactured.
The Land Cruiser is a reassuring companion for carrying out work and living a variety of lifestyles; it is a car that transports people's lives and items, and that fulfills people's mobility dreams; and it is a car that enables people to go where they want, when they want, and to return safe and sound.
In Africa, the Land Cruiser is used to provide humanitarian assistance; in Burundi, to carry malaria-infected children to hospital; and in refugee camps in Uganda, to transport patients to clinics.
In Australia, the Land Cruiser is used for mobility in zinc and copper mines some 1,600 meters underground; it is also used to herd cattle on vast cattle ranches of 8,000 square kilometers.
In Costa Rica in Central America, there are regions where the Land Cruiser is used to harvest carrots at altitudes of 3,500 meters, on slopes so steep that even humans have difficulty standing―the reason being that “only the Land Cruiser is capable of reaching these fields.”
In the Philippines, of course it’s synonymous with politicians mainly because they still look modest (it still has a Toyota badge), while still being able to shove the hoi polloi out of the way without as much as a scratch.
The 10 million Land Cruisers sold over the course of the past 68 years have been used on a variety of different roads, and they have contributed to the refinement of Toyota cars.
Going forward, in order to continue to cater to―and even exceed―customer expectations, Toyota says that they will continue to develop the Land Cruise on the premise that it will be used in every corner of the world. To this end, Toyota intends to set more rigorous standards, and to continue to engage in car-making with the goal of creating a truly unique car.
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