Land Cruiser 70 as a barometer of the economy

A sidelight of the recovery of New Zealand's economy is that the commercial and rural sectors sucked up 211 Toyota Land Cruiser 70 series in 2013, compared to 186 in 2012. True, those numbers are hardly enough to strike fear throughout the industry, but the 70 is a specialised vehicle. Close to half were the recent double cab version (above). Here's a report on the model, at the time of introduction. According to Toyota the 70 sold particularly well in such provincial regions as Canterbury, the Manawatu and Otago.

The Hilux? Oh, just cruising along on 5039 units for 2013, heading off the Ford Ranger and Nissan Navara.