Others are pointing out that there actually is a minivan model called the Toyota Isis.įor its part, Toyota says it’s “supporting” the investigation by US counter-terrorism officials, and it has a policy not to sell vehicles to buyers who might use them for paramilitary or terrorist activities, a CNN report says. Some have resurfaced a parody ad (“Toyota ISIS: We’re good for jihad!”), produced earlier this year by The Blaze, a conservative news outlet: However, the presence of Toyota pickups in modern warfare goes back a while. The Twitterverse is cracking jokes about the situation, of course. One of the main reasons for this can be traced back to when ISIS terrorists. In a recent ISIS parade, more than two-thirds of the vehicles were white Toyotas with black emblems, and there also were small numbers of other brands such as Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Isuzu. Questions about ISIS’s use of the vehicles have circulated for years, with the terror group believed to have repurposed older Toyota trucks as well as acquiring hundreds of new vehicles. An inquiry has been launched into how Isis has obtained such a large numbers of Toyota pickup trucks and SUVs. “I don’t think Toyota’s trying to intentionally profit from it, but they are on notice now and they should do more,” Wallace added.
Wallace is currently chief executive for the Counter Extremism Project, which aims to expose terrorists’ financial networks. “Regrettably, the Toyota Land Cruiser and Hilux have effectively become almost part of the ISIS brand,” said one former US ambassador to the UN, Mark Wallace, quoted in an ABC News report. ISIS fighters ride in a Toyota pickup truck in Raqqa. The Toyota Hilux pickup - a model similar to the Toyota Tacoma sold in the US - and Toyota Land Cruisers have become fixtures in the terror group’s propaganda videos, according to media reports late Tuesday and early Wednesday. Toyota has been put on the spot by the US government, which has asked the Japanese car maker to explain just how Islamic State has got hold of hundreds of its four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Here comes yet another body blow for the reeling auto industry.
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