YOKOHAMA, Japan — Toyota Motor Corp. is planning three additional body types to follow its traditional Crown sedan entry, creating a line of premium offerings that straddle the all-popular utility vehicle segment.
On tap for Crown are a large crossover wagon, a sporty coupe-styled crossover, and a jacked-up crossover-inspired family four-door.
So far, only the high-riding crossover four-door is officially slotted for the U.S. But engineers see big potential for some of the other variants with U.S. consumers, as Toyota goes global with a nameplate that has been Japan-only for decades. The Crown will now be offered in 40 countries and regions.
Diversifying the sedan will create a new top-end family of vehicles for Toyota, next to its mass-market middling Corolla collection and its entry-level Yaris series. Those lower-range nameplates already have multiple spinoffs from their base platforms; the Corolla alone has five body types globally.
In an earlier era, the Crown also had a coupe variant. But throughout its 67-year history, the Crown has been mostly perceived as a staid family sedan — and relegated to Toyota's home market.
But in a changing world, Toyota sees big benefits from branching out with the Crown.