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A few days ago, in the latest batch of model declaration catalogue of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the new Toyota Corolla will replace the 1.2T four-cylinder turbocharged engine with a 1.5L three-cylinder naturally aspirated engine called M15A/M15B. However, we found that GAC Toyota Leiling also appeared in the latest batch of model declaration catalogue of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. As a sister model of Carola, the new Leiling has also been replaced with a 1.5L three-cylinder naturally aspirated engine.

From the real car point of view, the new Leiling continues the cash design, is still a black medium grid design, the front face style has increased compared with the previous generation of lines, both sides of the front fender bulge, the headlights have become a barb style. In terms of size, the length, width and height of the new car are 4640 mm, 1780 mm and 1435 (1455), respectively, and the wheelbase is 2700mm.

Judging from the declaration information, the new Leiling will be equipped with a three-cylinder naturally aspirated engine of model M15A/M15C (An is imported, C is domestic), with a maximum power of 89kw and a 100-kilometer fuel consumption of 5.1L-5.3L/100km of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

At present, 2021 models of Leiling are on sale in China on June 30 this year, and a total of 5 models have been launched with a price range of 11.58-141800 yuan. The 2021 Leiling carries a 1.2T turbocharged four-cylinder engine with a maximum power of 85kw and a maximum torque of 185N ·m, matched with a 10-speed CVT gearbox.

In line with the Carola, even with a 1.5L three-cylinder engine, the new Leiling is no less than the current 1.2T four-cylinder turbocharged.

In fact, it is not surprising for Leiling / Carola to change to a 1.5L three-cylinder naturally aspirated engine.

According to previous reports, the production projects of Guangzhou Auto Toyota and FAW Toyota 1.5L naturally aspirated three-cylinder engines have long been approved. Among them, FAW Toyota TNGA 1.5L engine project started construction in May 2018, officially completed and put into production in May 2020, annual production of 108000 TNGA 1.5L engines, reconstruction will also reduce the annual production capacity of 1.2T engines by 108000 units, and the final total production capacity will remain unchanged.

At the same time, GAC Toyota will transform the existing AR engine into M15C engine, and formally put into production of M15C engine in July 2020, with an initial production capacity of 108000 units per year, and the remaining 192000 units per year will be transformed in the follow-up project. finally, the annual production capacity of M15C engine is 300000, and the engine production capacity of the whole plant remains unchanged at 726000 / year.

Toyota M15C three-cylinder self-priming engine will be the main power of Toyota's compact cars in China and SUV in the future, including more models such as Wechi, Zhi Hyun, Carola / Liling, etc., or the powertrain will be replaced on new models.

It is difficult to understand Toyota's insistence on introducing a three-cylinder engine. The domestic market is not optimistic about the three-cylinder engine model, due to physical factors, the three-cylinder engine has the characteristics of jitter, uneven operation, high noise and so on, which is generally unacceptable to consumers and is also very resistant to it psychologically.

In the domestic market, including Ford, Buick, Chevrolet, Geely and other brand models are equipped with low-displacement three-cylinder engine, but sales are not optimistic. The Fox, for example, was once Ford's most famous car, and since it was equipped with a 1.5L three-cylinder engine, the current market sales have remained at about 3000, less than a fraction of Xuan Yi. In addition, Buick's Yinglang also chose to carry three-cylinder engines at its peak, and then sales fell sharply until it returned to four-cylinder engines this year.

In the three-cylinder engine market, models such as Fox and Yinglong have already passed, which shows that this road is difficult to have the prospect of development. However, in this case, Toyota is determined to introduce three-cylinder engine, and it is also its two best-selling models, I do not know whether it is "full of confidence" or "set yourself on fire"?

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