The Toyota Land Cruiser (Japanese: トヨタ・ランドクルーザー, Hepburn: Toyota Rando-Kurūzā) (also sometimes spelled as LandCruiser)[1] is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. It is Toyota’s longest running series of models.[2] As of 2019, the sales of the Land Cruiser totalled more than 10 million units worldwide.[3]
Production of the first generation of the Land Cruiser began in 1951.[3][4][5] The Land Cruiser has been produced in convertible, hardtop, station wagon and cab chassis body styles. The Land Cruiser’s reliability and longevity have led to huge popularity, especially in Australia, where it is the best-selling body-on-frame, four-wheel drive vehicle.[6] Toyota also extensively tests the Land Cruiser in the Australian outback – considered to be one of the toughest operating environments in both temperature and terrain.[7][8][9] In Japan, the Land Cruiser was once exclusive to Toyota Japanese dealerships called Toyota Store.
As of 2021, the full-size Land Cruiser was available in many markets. Exceptions include the United States (since 2021),[10] Canada (since 1996),[11] Malaysia (which receives the Lexus LX instead), Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, South Korea, Brazil, and most of Europe. In Europe, the only countries where the full-size Land Cruiser is officially sold are Gibraltar, Moldova, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. The Land Cruiser is hugely popular in the Middle East, Russia, and Australia, and also in Africa where it is used by farmers, NGO’s, UN and humanitarian organizations, by national armies (often the pickup version) as well as by irregular armed groups who turn them into ‘technicals‘ by mounting machine guns in the rear. In August 2019, Toyota Land Cruiser cumulative global sales surpassed 10 million units.[12]
