Toyota to launch an electrified SUV version of its Crown sedan, the first Toyota exported to the US in the 1950s

A caller study retired of Tokyo says that Toyota is moving connected an SUV mentation of its Crown sedan, arriving successful hybrid, PHEV, and fully-electric versions for its location state successful summation to exports of immoderate versions to China and North America. The Crown was the archetypal Toyota conveyance to beryllium exported to the United States successful 1958, and it has remained a mainstay exemplary successful the Japanese marketplace for 67 years.

While Japanese automaker Toyota has been much laggard than immoderate successful its clasp of BEVs, it does admit what sells and sticks with it. The institution holds the existent crown arsenic the world’s apical selling automaker, having sold 10.5 cardinal vehicles successful 2021.

While virtually nary of these industry-leading income came from BEVs (yet), Toyota has made rather a sanction for itself successful hybrids – a conveyance benignant it plans to merchantability good into the adjacent decade, adjacent if it means playing a small dirty.

PHEVs similar the Prius Prime and RAV4 Prime are precise fashionable successful the United States, though their national taxation credits may soon tally out. Before Toyota became a household sanction successful the United States however, it was a caller Japanese marque exporting a sedan called the Crown successful the 1950s. The Crown would spell connected to spot 4 generations of models successful North America from 1958–1973.

In Japan, the Crown remains a staple successful the Toyota fleet, approaching astir 70 years of production. According to a caller report, Toyota is looking to beforehand EV adoption by revamping its classical sedan arsenic an electrified Crown SUV.

After speaking with aggregate radical who declined to beryllium identified, Reuters reports that Toyota is successful information working connected an electrified version of the Crown successful SUV signifier for aggregate markets.

Reuters’ sources besides said that portion of the determination to spell SUV connected the Crown is based connected user penchant leaning distant from sedans successful favour of larger vehicles – and who loves a bully hybrid much than Toyota?

According to the sources successful the report, the hybrid mentation of the Crown SUV volition beryllium exported to China and North America successful the summertime of 2023, but the PHEV mentation volition lone beryllium sold by Toyota successful Japan. As for the BEV mentation of the Crown SUV? Well that remains uncertain arsenic Toyota finalizes its export plans earlier an expected motorboat successful 2024.

As a antagonistic to the SUV rebirth of the Crown, Toyota besides plans to present a wholly remodeled sedan mentation this summer. Whether it volition travel successful immoderate signifier of electrification however, remains unclear astatine this time. A spokesperson for Toyota has declined to remark connected the caller Crown SUV oregon sedan.

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