Toyota to Cease FJ Cruiser Production Worldwide
The Toyota FJ Cruiser
The Toyota FJ Cruiser is a quirky-looking car that was built to rival the likes of the Jeep Wrangler with its retro looks and off-road capacity. Unfortunately, sales didn’t take off as Toyota had originally hoped, and the SUV was discontinued in America back in 2014. However, the FJ Cruiser lived on in certain markets, including Australia and the Middle East… until now, that is.
Toyota has announced that it will completely cease production of the FJ Cruiser this August. In total, the SUV’s production run lasted 10 years, though it’s only been sold in Australia since 2011. In that time, Australian drivers have bought a total of 11,000 FJ Cruisers, which averages out to about 180 a month. That might not sound like a lot, but it was more than Toyota expected to sell, so the automaker was happy to keep producing it once it was discontinued in the States.
The FJ Cruiser was modeled on the iconic FJ40 Land Cruiser, which was first launched back in 1960. It borrowed retro design cues from the older model, which led to it being one of the most uniquely styled vehicles on the road. In Australia, the FJ Cruiser won 4×4 Australia magazine’s “4×4 of the Year” title in its first year on sale. It was highly acclaimed by critics for its “well-proven and robust mechanicals.”
Since the FJ Cruiser’s US discontinuation back in 2014, the SUV has become a hot commodity when it comes to resale value. Last November, Automotive News reported that a 2008 FJ Cruiser with 87,000 miles on the odometer spurred a bidding war at a used car auction, eventually selling for $18,000. That price is a whopping 60% of the FJ Cruiser’s new-vehicle price, which is practically unheard of in the used car market. In addition, the NADA Used Car Guide showed that the base 2012 FJ Cruiser had an average trade-in price of $25,275, which equals 90.8% of its price when it was new.
If the FJ Cruiser is as sought-after in Australia as it is here in the US, we fully expect that it will become just as in-demand as a used vehicle Down Under as it is here.
News Source: AutoBlog
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