Finally waited for Crown to release a new model.
A few days ago, Toyota officially released the official pictures of the new Crown. This is the first time that the fifteenth-generation Crown has been revised since it was launched in Japan two years ago.
The new car retains the design of big buck teeth, small fastback and four exhaust outlets. The overall appearance design remains unchanged. However, three styles of car paints have been added, namely white pearl, Passionate red and metallic gray, you can imagine it as you read the name. This is a "young and sporty" look.
The focus of the adjustment of the new Crown is on the interior. The most conspicuous thing is that the upper and lower split screens in the central control area have been canceled and replaced by a 12.3-inch floating screen, which looks "larger" than the RAV4 and other models. The TV "is more in line with modern trends, and the car system supports Apple CarPlay interconnection function. The air-conditioning outlets have been changed to a horizontal bar style, and the temperature control function keys have also been changed to physical buttons.
Compared with the old model, the Crown logo on the steering wheel is enlarged to highlight that this is a Crown and not an ordinary Toyota. However, the style of the steering wheel is still indistinguishable from other Toyota models. To exaggerate, if the car logo is covered, most people will not be able to tell that this is a Crown.
But it doesn’t matter, no matter how the new Crown is modified, it has nothing to do with us. ?Crown officially ceased production on April 28 this year as sales continued to decline and there was no National VI model. With the 483,679th Crown model rolling off the assembly line at FAW Toyota's Tianjin plant, Yifeng has ended Crown's 15-year domestic production career in China, which also means that Crown has officially said goodbye to the Chinese market.
The first half of life was full of glory
Since its birth in 1955, Toyota Crown has gone through 65 years. Looking back on its initial appearance, it became an instant hit in Japan's high-end market with its split-door doors that were the same as those of Rolls-Royce. At that time, Toyota was confident enough to sell the first-generation Crown in the U.S. market. However, due to the fact that the Crown is as narrow as an A-class car, the Crown was completely "humiliated" in the United States, a market that tends to favor large cars.
After the setback in the U.S. market, Toyota Crown decided to supply the Asian market exclusively to Japan, and for a long time, the Crown represented the highest level of Toyota cars and was the flagship sedan of the family. Considered "Toyota's darling". As for the Century, which stands at the top of the Toyota family pyramid, it was only born to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of brand founder Sakichi Toyoda, and the Century has always been exclusively used by politicians, which is highly similar to the nature of the domestic red flag. ?
Crown’s official relationship with the Chinese market started with the fourth generation model. In 1973, there were very few high-end cars in China. In order to meet the reception needs of the Canton Fair, 200 Crown models were introduced, which shows how high Crown's position is in the high-end car market. ?In the later sixth and seventh generation models, the Crown began to be put into use in the domestic taxi market. You must know that in the 1970s and 1980s, taxis were a means of transportation that only "rich people" could afford. Being lucky enough to be a taxi driver can be said to be a "prosperous ancestor". Being a taxi driver is a very prestigious thing. It was also at that time that the image of Toyota Crown's luxury car was deeply imprinted in the hearts of Chinese people. ?
There will be no crown after twelve generations?
In 2005, FAW Toyota officially introduced the 12th generation Crown. This was the first time in the 50 years since its birth that the Crown was produced in a factory outside Japan. It is understood that before Toyota developed the twelfth-generation model, it set a "start from scratch" standard and put aside the inherent thinking of the previous twelfth-generation model and carried out a thorough reform.
After a painful reform, the Crown's appearance shows a stable and majestic appearance, and the interior is wrapped in mahogany wood and leather to create a very warm atmosphere. It is a typical Japanese luxury car. ?
At the same time, the Japanese have a meticulous understanding of luxury. Crown's air-conditioning outlet supports automatic left and right air supply. This is to avoid the discomfort caused by air supply in one direction. To make it easier for older people to get in and out of the car, there are two large armrests behind the front seats. The headrest of the passenger seat can be folded forward 90° to provide the boss in the back seat with the greatest visibility.
In addition, the lumbar support of the passenger seat can be removed. After lying back, the boss in the back seat can extend his feet to the passenger seat and let the driver "smell his smelly feet" , which also shows how low the status of Japanese drivers is. ?
Perhaps it coincides with the realization of domestic production, and the price of Crown has been reduced. Coupled with the strong product strength, Crown has reached its peak in the twelfth generation model. It is no exaggeration to say that, At that time, Crown's status in the high-end car market was comparable to that of BBA. The highest-spec Majesta version, equipped with a 4.3L V8 engine, sold for 890,000 yuan in China. Even Hongqi used it to "re-shell" it and transformed it into a prosperous car.
It’s just that the good times did not last long. Crown’s peak was just one generation of models. From the beginning of the 13th generation, it went downhill, and consumers’ wallets were more inclined to BBA first-tier luxury cars. When it came to the fourteenth generation, the Crown actually adopted a young and sporty design style, and all the detailed designs mentioned above were abandoned. It was no longer a Crown that could represent Japanese luxury cars, and was also criticized. Countless car fans spurned it, and this is why the saying "There will be no crown after twelve generations" has been spread.
In 2018, after the fifteenth-generation Crown was released in Japan, there has been no movement to introduce it in the country. At this time, sensitive car fans have already expected that the new Crown will miss the Chinese market and will not be accepted. The fourteenth-generation model will live on for a day, until April 28 this year, when Crown chooses to "quietly" leave at night.
Or reincarnate?
In fact, as early as two years ago, Toyota applied for a patent drawing for the appearance of the new Crown in China. At that time, there were also some car fans who were "unwilling to accept the facts" and used the patent drawing to comfort themselves that the new car was expected to be introduced. domestic. But in fact, they have already tacitly acknowledged the authenticity of the rumor that the 15th generation Crown will miss the Chinese market.
Toyota, which has always been a "chicken thief", under the background of the discontinuation of Reizhi and the increasingly narrow market of Crown, a rear-wheel drive production line can only produce a single model of Crown. It is very clear that it is specially designed for one car. Building a production line for a car that has no market is an investment that "must lose money but never make a profit". Regarding the position of flagship car, Yifeng has long had a plan to "replace Crown with Asia Dragon", and judging from the current monthly sales of Asia Dragon exceeding 10,000, this plan is so successful.
As for applying for patent drawings, it is either to "leave a way for import" in the future, or to make a false shot in the Chinese market, just like the recent Toyota GR series launch conference. The price of the Supra that has been decided to be introduced will not be announced, and there is no plan to introduce the GR Yaris that has been unveiled. It is just to "enjoy us" and "play like monkeys". If you don't know what is going on, you can check our previous reports .
However, some media KOLs recently stated that the Toyota Crown may be resurrected in China, but it will not be in the form of a sedan. If the news is true, is it possible that Crown will appear again as a "China Special"? In my opinion, it's unlikely. After all, Crown is "Toyota's darling". It must be born and raised in the country. If it is to be turned into a special car for markets outside the local market, Toyota is obviously unwilling to do so.
But if we say that this special car is just taking advantage of the residual heat of Crown's reputation and named it "Crown XX", for example, the "Crown COMFORT" specially designed for the taxi market is currently in service in Japan and Japan. Hong Kong is known as the "Jinfeng Crown" in the public, but its shape and name resemble a crown, but it actually has nothing to do with the crown. But even so, there are not a few people who are confused by Jinfeng Crown.
According to this logic, it is not a bad idea to use this routine when Crown is resurrected in China. As for whether it is an SUV or an MPV? Judging from Toyota's popularity in SUVs, every new car it launches becomes a hit. Is it possible for "Crown XX" to make a profit without losing money by investing in SUVs?
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.