The Japanese manufacturer wants to prevent the new Land Cruisers from falling into the wrong hands or being the subject of speculation through resale. In the domestic market, measures are already being taken to stop these practices, demanding a commitment from customers.
For almost 70 years, the Toyota Land Cruiser has been one of the most important models of the Japanese manufacturer, with a family tree full of versions of work, for family use, more luxurious, etc. The new version, Land Cruiser 300, is about to debut in its home market.
So far the 22,000 advance reservations of the new Land Cruiser, and Toyota suspects that there are units that may be the subject of speculation or export. Both can give a bad press to the manufacturer, especially the latter, especially in certain countries.
As the production of new vehicles is being disrupted around the world by the microchip crisis, there are supply problems. That means that, given a higher demand, there will be people willing to pay more for immediate availability instead of signing up for a waiting list.
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This contract comes from Japan to be signed by future owners of a Land Cruiser. It expresses the commitment that the purchase is not intended for resale (preventing the possibility of selling the vehicle for a time) or export outside the country.
This contract is primarily intended for customers, but it also puts pressure on dealers to collaborate in this regard. In case of infringement, Toyota reserves the right not to deal with individuals or legal entities in the future, and even penalize certain dealers.
The manufacturer is also on the fence, checking if the same people or companies are trying to acquire multiple units spread over different dealerships. It is therefore about avoid possible problems of excess demand in the initial sales phase of the Land Cruiser 300.
Land Cruiser 300 range
As for vetoing exports outside the official channels, it responds to Toyota’s need not to be splattered by the use of its SUV by certain undesirable customers who do not go through a dealership, but who end up using their cars after a resale .
Previously, this has already been an image problem for Toyota as images of -for example- terrorist organizations are disseminated with their vehicles, without the manufacturer having anything to do with or being able to prevent it. This problem has also occurred with other manufacturers once the vehicles “escape” their control.
The document to be signed cites global security reasons depending on the export markets. The signature is associated with a delivery of documentation, both for individuals and for legal entities (such as companies). Thus, in the event that any Japanese law is violated, it will be easier to trace the path to the suspects.
In order for the manufacturer to have full control over its vehicle fleets, it would have to use leasing or renting in exclusive. Therefore, customers do not buy the vehicle, they pay to have it for a while, but the property belongs to the manufacturer.
That was the mode that General Motors used with the sadly famous EV-1 -as well as other manufacturers that participated in the Californian experiment at that time-, which was able to recover their cars because they did not sell them, they gave them up. The Japanese contract will not be as effective, but it will have a deterrent effect.
As has been the case in recent years, sometimes Japanese manufacturers are very conservative in their sales forecasts and the initial production is not enough to meet the demand. This time the detrimental effects on demand may be dampened, such as a price hike on new or rarely used units.