LandCruiser chaos finally strikes Australia! Toyota suspends all new 70 Series orders indefinitely due to "extended wait times"

Toyota's global LandCruiser supply issues have at last made their way to Australia, with the brand here today suspending new 70 Series orders in what it calls a customer measure due to "extended wait times".

The measure hasn't impacted the LandCruiser 300 Series, with the brand recently telling CarsGuide that orders for that model would continue as usual, albeit with wait times for that model which reportedly stretch for up to 20 months.

The 70 Series, though, has been "paused" in Australian with Toyota's Vice President Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations, Sean Hanley, saying the brand was responding to an "evolving situation".

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"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," he says.

"Therefore, 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.

"We are monitoring the global supply situation closely and will continue to make decisions based on the best interests of our customers and dealers.

"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."

At fault here is a combination of the "ongoing production disruptions being experienced by the global automotive industry" and the 70 Series popularity in Australia.

It's remains so popular, in fact, that recent reports pointed to wait times in this market in excess of four years for the model. Clearly Toyota in Australia has decided that's too long for its customers to wait, and so the focus has become on clearing the extensive backlog.

The new follows Toyota in Japan suspending all local LC300 orders after receiving enough demand to "greatly exceed our production capacity".

In an update posted to the LandCruiser page of Toyota Japan's public website, the brand said:

"Apology for suspension of order. Thank you for considering our vehicle. LandCruiser has been very well received, not only in Japan but also in other countries around the world, and we are currently suspending orders because we have received orders that greatly exceed our production capacity.

"Regarding the resumption of orders, we will inform you again based on the future production situation. We apologise for the inconvenience, and thank you for your understanding."

Wait times in Japan are reported to stretch up to four years for certain LC300 models, which is clearly the driving force in suspending orders while its production facilities can catch up.

That model, though, is not impacted in Australia (outside its growing wait times), with Toyota here saying order stoppages in Japan won't flow to our market, with our production numbers unchanged.

"Toyota Australia can confirm that orders for the LC300 remain open and unchanged for the Australian market," a spokesperson told CarsGuide.

"The recent pause on LC300 order taking in Japan does not affect the Australian market. Toyota dealers are best placed to continue to provide updates to our customers on delivery timeframes for individual orders."