It was learned in December of last year that the Toyota Land Cruiser's days were numbered in North America. The news was a sad moment for off-roading fans, but over in Japan, the show must go on.

An all-new platform was created for the brand new 2022 Land Cruiser. Consumers should have been focused on the features the new Land Cruiser comes equipped with, like an all-new twin-turbocharged V6 in place of a brutish V8 and a new 12.3-inch multifunction display. But some truly bizarre restrictions have prospective buyers scratching their heads and taking up headlines.

Toyota's complete ban on re-sale of 2022 Land Cruisers effective immediately seems totally out of character for a company so historically focused on excellent customer service, but looking a bit deeper into the facts reveals some legitimate reasons to be concerned.

As bonkers as it may sound, Toyota has reason to suspect these rugged and dependable off-roaders could potentially wind up in the hands of people who could use them for devious and illegal purposes. Let's take a look at why Toyota's so concerned with this issue, they've gone as far as to place restrictions on its customers.

The new Land Cruiser is bound to be as rugged and reliable as the predecessors that made it a legend. Toyota wants to make sure that none of these new Land Cruisers wind up in the hands of people who could jeopardize national security.

Related: Here's What We Love About The 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser

They Have Good Reason To Be Concerned

Economic hardship tends to bring out the worst in people, which certainly applies to the car market as well. It's one of the main areas of concern Toyota has to contend with in their latest actions to limit the flow of used Land Cruisers.

A lack of dependable utility vehicles permeates many of the nations within the immediate Japanese sphere of influence. Global demand for reliable new trucks that don't constantly break down is at an all-time high, and people are willing to pay top dollar and use all kinds of grey area dealings to bring these supposedly Japanese exclusive 4x4s to their home country.

It's safe to speculate that Toyota fears that their brand new Land Cruisers could wind up in the hands of people who wish to sell them abroad at a substantial price mark-up. The new contract that Land Cruiser buyers now have to sign states that any buyer who sells their vehicle within 12 months is barred from ever buying another Toyota. At the very least, this sale embargo would bring a stop to any such dubious sales in the short term.

Toyota Trucks Have Been Used In Paramilitary Groups In The Past

Unfortunately, or thankfully depending on the point of view, the very traits that make Toyota vehicles so dependable on and off-road make it ideal for guerilla warfare campaigns and therefore, terrorist activity. Throughout the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America, civilian Toyotas have a storied history of winding up on battlefields it was never intended to ever see.

Militia groups outfit these Land Cruisers with everything from armor plating and mounting points for things like 50. caliber machine guns, rocket launcher tubes, and even guided missiles

The most famous example of this occurring is the final phase of the Chad-Libyan conflict, now known colloquially as the Toyota War. In this conflict, Libyan armed forces under the command of Muammar Ghadaffi were expelled out of neighboring Chad by a scrappy team of guerilla soldiers and 400 civilian Toyota Hilux's and of course, Land Cruisers. Bringing an end to a nearly ten-year conflict between the two African nations.

Preventing Land Cruisers From Being Sold To Terrorists

It's also not uncommon for Japanese as well as American utility vehicles to find their way into the hands of terrorist organizations. This phenomenon is largely associated with groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS in the Middle East, but this occurs in other conflict-torn nations across the globe as well.

As ludicrous as its sounds on the first impression, Toyota might be wise to do everything in their power to limit the flow of their vehicles to buyers they don't feel are genuine consumers, as their products can and have been used by forces outside their control to as weapons of war.

As much as their use in guerrilla armies does everything to reinforce their brand's reputation for ruggedness and reliability, this is a geopolitical game Toyota shareholders and marketing department want absolutely no part of. Several years ago, the U.S. Treasury Department launched an investigation into just how so many Toyota trucks wound up in hands of ISIS. This revealed a shady network of middlemen who acquire either by purchasing or stealing civilian Toyota models to be re-sold to criminal elements around the world involved in everything from drug smuggling to human trafficking and fighting wars of aggression for terrorist groups.

With this in mind, it makes all the sense in the world why Toyota would want this issue put behind them sooner rather than later. it may seem draconian and silly for people who just want to buy a well-built brand new 4x4, but don't be surprised if such practice becomes more common not just with Toyotas, but with automakers industry-wide.

Sources: Toyota, The Indipendant, Diario di Vic, ABC