Tokyo, Jul 15 (BUS): Toyota’s flagship model in Japan, the Crown, is going on sale worldwide for the first time, including in the United States.
The sixteenth-generation Crown is scheduled to go into production in January, and it comes in four variants – a hybrid crossover; a sedan that looks a lot like the crowns we see on Japanese streets; The company said the SUV and crossover would be called “The Estate.”
The Crown will go on sale in 40 countries, with Toyota Motor Corp aiming to make 200,000 vehicles in annual global sales. The cheapest version starts at 4.35 million yen ($31,000) in Japan.
Toyota, Japan’s largest automaker, sells about 10 million vehicles globally annually. It has a successful global luxury lineup called Lexus, whose cheapest models sell for about $35,000 in the United States, according to the Associated Press.
The crown’s history parallels the rise of Toyota and the modern Japanese economy, with the first sedan going on sale in Japan in 1955.
“One day a crown,” has been the motto over the years. But the cars are not well known abroad.
Toyoda called the crown “the pride of Japan.” The founder of the company, Kiichiro Toyoda, his grandfather, came up with this name.
“Nothing would make me happier than the Japanese crown becoming loved by everyone around the world,” Toyoda said.
insult