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As we all know, the Crown, as an exclusive series of models built by Toyota for high-end, has been developed for a long time. And entered the domestic market in the early stage, and then FAW Toyota Crown model has completely stopped production and withdrew from the Chinese market due to the decline in market demand. Toyota had already considered the "fate" of this high-end car when it thought that Toyota would re-achieve domestic production through the 15th generation of overseas models. Now the resurrection has become a SUV.

A few days ago, some media exposed the actual pictures and some parameter information of FAW Toyota's new crown model. From the overall model point of view, the new car is inherited from the overseas brand-new Hanlanda XSE version (which can be regarded as the Hanlanda sports version). Although it hangs the crown logo, it is regarded as the "sister model" of the brand-new Halanda.

Since the two models are known to be sister models, according to Toyota practice, the two cars will be built on the same platform, that is, they will be developed based on Toyota's TNGA-K platform, with similar overall contours and a continuation of the Hanlanda style, as seen from the newly revealed patent drawings.

In appearance, the new car is basically the same as GAC Hanlanda, making adjustments in details. Including the front grille shape has been adjusted, the front enclosure is wider, the fog lamp area shape is narrower and longer, but its side and tail shape is highly consistent with the new Hanlanda.

The same is true for the rear part, which only adds a chrome strip design to the bottom of the rear bumper, adding a certain degree of advanced feeling. It is worth mentioning that according to the parameter information, the new car is more than 5 meters long in size, which is larger than GAC Toyota's new Hanlanda, but the wheelbase parameters remain the same and are expected to be released at the Shanghai Auto Show, which opens on April 19 this year.

Although the interior of the new car has not been exposed so far, it is speculated that it will not change much from the Hanlanda, with an integrated physical button layout in the central control area, and the touch screen is available in 8-inch and 12.3-inch sizes. The functional layout below is similar to the latest RAV4.

In terms of power, the new car is equipped with 2.5L high-power hybrid system, the engine power reaches 141kW, which exceeds the hybrid version of Asian Dragon, and the comprehensive power may reach 183kW (refer to overseas version Sienna), which is stronger than the current 2.0T version of Hanlanda.

According to the latest news, FAW Toyota Hanlanda was named "CROWN KLUGER", literally translated as "Crown-Hanlanda", but as Hanlan's name has been used by GAC Toyota, many sources show that Yifeng Hanlanda's Chinese name will be "Crown-Lu Fang".

Data show that the first generation of Toyota crown was officially launched in 1955, and now it has developed to the 15th generation of products, after 65 years. Therefore, in the impression of many consumers, "Crown" is not only a Toyota, but also a synonym for high-end cars in Japan. However, in the Chinese market, with the change of the consumer market environment, Toyota Crown has been unable to find the original market positioning, thus gradually withdrawing from the market.

Similarly, in the current changing market environment, Toyota Crown is also affected in its home market. As car sales in the Japanese market continue to decline, the main young consumers seem to be moving away from cars and buying products such as SUV.

In response, there are reports that Toyota plans to launch the last product of the cash crown in 2022, which will be completely over, and then turn the crown into a "bodywork" product that could become a crossover or SUV. And now the domestic first appearance of the "crown version" SUV, also confirmed such remarks.

However, the crown has been incorporated into the naming, and it has also been speculated in the industry that the new car will be positioned higher than the GAC Toyota Hananda, and will even make up for the gap in the medium-sized seven-seat SUV field after FAW Toyota stopped producing Prado.

According to the previous EIA information, the planned annual production capacity of Crown-Lufang is about 50,000 vehicles, and the average monthly target sales may be about 4,000 vehicles, which is similar to that of Anke Banner and explorers. Together with GAC Toyota's production capacity of 90, 000 vehicles, the total production capacity of the car in China will reach 140000.

As a reference, the price of the cash Hanlanda is 23.98-325800 yuan, and due to the brand, product, market and other factors, there has been a phenomenon of price increase or firm price in the terminal. As for the pricing of "Crown-Lufang", we can only wait and see.

Although it is said that Crown sedan has completely stopped production and delisted in China, it is worth trying to return to the market in another capacity and extend the production cycle of the series, perhaps from the perspective of corporate strategy and consumers.

According to FAW Toyota's official 2020 performance report, FAW Toyota sold 800000 vehicles in 2020, an increase of 9 per cent year on year and a market share of 4.3 per cent. For policy and sales reasons, FAW Toyota Ruizhi, Crown, Prado and Lande Cool have stopped production, but with the continuous expansion of the Toyota brand in China, Toyota will also launch new cars for more market segments to boost Toyota's development in China.

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