[RahulNagaraj]

Toyota Motor Corporation in association with Toyota Tsusho and B Medical Systems have introduced a new refrigerated vehicle for COVID-19 vaccine transportation. The vehicle comes in the form of a modified Toyota Land Cruiser and is said to be the world’s first vehicle to obtain WHO-approval.



According to the arrangement between the three companies, Toyota Motor Corp. will provide the base vehicle, a Land Cruiser 78, while B Medical Systems provide the CF850 vaccine refrigerator. Toyota Tsusho Group company ‘CFAO SAS’ and Toyota Group company ‘Toyota Customising & Development Co. Ltd.,’ will be in-charge of the vehicle installation and conversion.

The modified Toyota Land Cruiser 78 as mentioned, is the first vaccine delivery vehicle to comply with the Performance, Quality & Safety (PQS) pre-qualifications’ set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Talking about the CF850 refrigerator, it comes with a total capacity of 396-litres or 400 vaccine packages. The refrigerator has its own independent battery setup, allowing it to operate for up to 16 hours without any external power supply. Charging of these batteries can be done either by the vehicle while driving or by an external power source when parked.

These refrigerated vehicles, allow the vaccine to be stored under optimal temperature (between 2 to 8-degree Celsius) during its transportation. According to WHO, around 20 per cent of the vaccine volume become unusable every year, due to the lack of proper refrigerated transportation.

Link to Team-BHP news

[extreme_torque]

Absolutely love this version of the Land Cruiser. Simple, tough mechanicals, reliable as sun and a V8 Turbo diesel. I am glad this is still sold in Australia and is a great base for a touring truck. We love them here down under

[Sran]

Land Cruiser is a competent vehicle and there is no doubt about it but sadly the same can not be said about WHO under Tedros's leadership which has failed the world, so I do not know what to make of this.

Toyota can gloat about it but WHO does not command same reputation as earlier. WHO under current structure can issue any certificate for the right price.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Land Cruiser is anyway the unofficial official vehicle of the UN. No surprises here.

What are the chances that this was a promotional endorsement done at Toyota’s behest?

[dsr001]

Good for Toyota. But I'm thinking how is vaccine delivery happening today? Which vehicle brands are authorised?

[lemedico]

Toyota's capabilities have caught my eye ever since Clarkson took the Hilux on a destruction trail around Britain. Kudos Toyota, for doing your capable bit in the world of unending crisis. Many many many beers in those fridges for when the vaccines aren't a priority shipment!

[DicKy]

Erm...

Guess just some PR push by Toyota.

Like what else is WHO or UN as a whole going to use on the field? The new Defender?

Wish Toyota gave the 70 series a proper second leash of life. Guess they are content with the sales in small markets with lax regulations.

Toyota can, but won't.

[charanreddy]

I feel this is rather pathetic, trying to use the covid scare to push an already established brand. How is this vehicle different from.. say an ice-cream truck. And Who is WHO to give an approval for an automobile, I understand for a vaccine may be..

First the fiasco last year with WHO giving a clean chit to China with out even investigating and now this !

[N33raj]

To quote General Melchett, "Baaaaeeeehhh!"

So what is so special about this LC (rhetorical question; i read thru the article)? Other than the fact that this is from the indestructible series? I understand that a portion of vaccines are rendered useless due to logistical issues but how far will this VLC (vaccine land cruiser) reduce this wastage?

Off topic: perhaps a LC special ice cream van next?

[Sankar]

Because W.H.O knows that they can re-use the same Toyota trucks for the next pandemic 100 years from now. Tedros will be gone but cruiser will remain

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Absolutely love this version of the Land Cruiser. Simple, tough mechanicals, reliable as sun and a V8 Turbo diesel. I am glad this is still sold in Australia and is a great base for a touring truck. We love them here down under

OT: I follow this guy and he recently did a walk around of his rig built on a 70 series. The amount of customizations are insane! No wonder Toyota is still milking this platform, as there is enough demand for it even in 2021!

I am just curious if these guys even bother with a warranty if anything goes wrong? With the amount of aftermarket parts on the vehicle, it might be just easier to get it checked by an independent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDDeI422X_g

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by DicKy

Wish Toyota gave the 70 series a proper second leash of life. Guess they are content with the sales in small markets with lax regulations.

Toyota can, but won't.

I am sorry but I dont get you here. If you are asking for a more modern Land Cruiser, there is already one in case you havent noticed, the LC200 or the soon to be launched LC300. The whole appeal of the 70 series lies in its simplicity.

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

OT: I follow this guy and he recently did a walk around of his rig built on a 70 series. The amount of customizations are insane! No wonder Toyota is still milking this platform, as there is enough demand for it even in 2021!

I am just curious if these guys even bother with a warranty if anything goes wrong? With the amount of aftermarket parts on the vehicle, it might be just easier to get it checked by an independent.

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=BDDeI422X_g

Australia is one of the biggest market for LC70 series and its primarily made of fleet sales (mining industry, government fleets as an ambulance, police cars in the outback, snow plows etc you name it) and an equally large market as a base vehicle for an overland tough as nails 4x4 build. Australians wont have it any other way - there is saying in the outback which is "If you want to go to the bush, get a Land Rover, if you want to come back get a Land Cruiser"

I have been meaning to start a thread on Land Cruisers of Australia but havent gotten around to it yet. We do all sorts of things with the Cruiser's

Imagine getting a brand new LC200, your first brand new car and then taking it to a factory to chop it in half on the very first day! There is a method to this madness. You see the canopy at the back is very important for an overland 4x4 and the LC200 doesnt come in a ute variant unlike LC70. But unlike LC70 the LC200 is properly civilized, auto transmission (LC70 is manual only), create comforts yada yada. The genius of chopped LC200 is that instead of using LC70 as a base and doing it up to make it suitable for 4x4 touring, start with a LC200, chop it in half, extend the wheelbase, put a canopy at the back and there you have it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdBIQdkuvUk

How about a six wheeled LC200, we have them too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COZcupeOAwo

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

I am sorry but I dont get you here. If you are asking for a more modern Land Cruiser, there is already one in case you havent noticed, the LC200 or the soon to be launched LC300. The whole appeal of the 70 series lies in its simplicity.

Sorry, you got me terribly wrong.

As a naive teenager used to daydream importing a 5 door wagon LC70 with the V8 diesel, the 3 door SWB is still one of my lustmobiles, grew up hearing my father recall his desert travails with the 40 and 70 series.

Haven't drive one yet, but did get the opportunity to sit in a factory fresh model a couple of years ago. The old school chrome handles, the mechanical clicks, the sheet metal strength, the 80s time capsule interiors just reinforced my admiration for it.

So please don't lump me with those who look at the LC70's pics and say, "old version of Qualis?' (including TBHpians, check old threads)

Ofcourse, Toyota has continuously upgraded it to meet emission and safety norms, with the pickup version even getting a five star crash rating a few years ago. Also, can pretty much bet on the fact it will be getting the new 3.3l V6 diesel a couple of years down the line. But for how long? It is only time before their biggest markets, Australia, GCC and Africa (?) tighten stuff up and Toyota does some maths to phase it out.

Afterall, they are planning the next generation of Hilux/Fortuner/4runner/Tacoma as a single global lineup of offroaders/UVs. Could push and coax customers to it. Unless they upgrade the LC70 to be able to sell in more markets. Upgrade just means in areas of safety, emissions and possibly fuel economy. Powers to be don't care about anything else.

Along the lines of Wrangler, G wagon kind. Basics intact.

[subhro1988]

Originally Posted by dsr001

But I'm thinking how is vaccine delivery happening today? Which vehicle brands are authorised?

I am not sure about authorization but when Serum Institute dispatched the first batch of vaccines it was all across the news channels; there I saw it was being dispatched via the popular Tata 1613 in the Reefer version obviously.