Toyota Australia has confirmed it is pausing new orders of its trusty 70 Series LandCruiser as the company deals with “supply and demand factors” that are causing lengthy wait times.
The 70 Series is essentially a classic model that is lightly modernised but still sold as a brand new model. It has accumulated thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of fans in Australia over the years. And according to monthly new vehicle registrations figures in the form of VFACTS, Toyota Australia continues to sell around 1000 (often more) examples every month.
As the industry continues to face major supply chain constraints and disruptions brought on by either COVID-related issues or implications of the war in Ukraine, delivery wait times continue to suffer. For the 70 Series, Toyota says it is experiencing “historical” high demand in the local market. That, paired with the production delays, means it is in a perfect storm, so to speak. In a statement, Toyota Australia’s Sean Hanley said:
“The Toyota team has been working diligently to deliver a record number of vehicles with extraordinary support from our parent company. At the same time, strong demand and industry-wide supply challenges globally mean we simply cannot fulfil orders more quickly.”
Hanley, the local vice president for sales and marketing and franchise operations in Australia, said the company is monitoring the global supply situation. However, due to the two major factors Toyota Australia is pausing all orders of the 70 Series until further notice. Hanley said:
“We have decided to pause new customer orders for the LandCruiser 70 Series. Dealers will be in direct contact with customers about wait times for individual existing orders over the coming months. I understand this news will be disappointing and want to sincerely apologise to our customers and assure them we will continue to provide updates as further information becomes available.”
The 70 Series is currently (aside from the pause) available in four body styles, including a single- and double-cab ute, wagon, and the iconic Troop Carrier. All are powered by a 4.5-litre turbo-diesel V8 producing 151kW and 430Nm, and all feature a five-speed manual transmission. In either case it is one of the most rugged and off-road-capable vehicles on the new car market.