Zombie Car Alert: Toyota Sold A Single New FJ Cruiser In 2021

The FJ Cruiser that Toyota sold in the first half of 2021 has remained the model’s only sale last year. It’s a shocking sale because the FJ disappeared from Toyota’s lineup in the US after the 2014 model year, and it has taken dealers a bit of time to clear out their inventory. With 2021 finally shrinking away in the rearview mirror, Toyota has released its 2021 sales figures, and the company has had a solid year despite, well, everything.

Toyota closed 2021 up 10.3 percent from 2020, selling just over 2 million vehicles. Lexus, Toyota’s luxury division, also saw sales jump in 2021 to 304,476, an increase of 10.7 percent over 2020. It was enough to dethrone General Motors as America’s number-one automaker. However, the strong sales year is marked with a brutal December sales report – both were down over 30 percent.

Gallery: Toyota FJ Cruiser Final Edition

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The chip shortage that has shocked the auto industry spared Toyota for most of the year. The company began feeling the crunch in late August, which forced it to shut down some production. Other automakers saw trouble much earlier in the year.

The lone FJ Cruiser sold last year is the latest in a trend of defunct cars continuing to sell long after automakers ended their production. Motor1 reported last year that Lexus had sold three new LFA supercars in 2019, even though Lexus had produced all 500 examples by the end of 2012. However, the supercar didn’t sell as well as Lexus had hoped.

Discontinued, But Still Selling:

Other automakers have had zombie car sales, including the Dodge Viper, the Jeep Patriot, the Chrysler 200 and others. Considering the shortage of new new cars this year, we would hope that every new FJ Cruiser that was left on dealer lots has found a home. We’ll keep an eye out for other zombie cars that sold last year as automakers release their year-end sales figures.

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