The ninth-generation Crown was launched in October 1991. This generation of models was divided into a four-door hardtop version and a higher-end MAJESTA series. The four-door sedan and four-door station wagon of the same period followed the chassis of the eighth-generation Crown, and the appearance was modeled after the ninth-generation Crown. The ninth-generation Crown was revamped in 1993 and the appearance was redesigned. A total of 284,000 cars of this generation of Crown were produced.
At the end of 1991, the Crown JZS133 (commonly known as: Crown 133), which was converted from the eighth-generation Crown four-door sedan, began to be sold in China. The domestically imported "Crown 133" adopts the Toyota logo on the front and rear, and there is a prominent Crown logo on the engine cover. The car is equipped with a 3.0-liter inline 6-cylinder engine, which is divided into Super Saloon models matching a 5-speed manual transmission and Royal Saloon models matching a 4-speed automatic transmission. This generation of models has a huge number of domestic sales.
The tenth-generation crown was launched in August 1995, and the models included a four-door hardtop and a four-door sedan, while the four-door travel version continued to be modified on the basis of the eighth-generation crown. In terms of appearance, the tenth-generation crown continued the previous generation’s rounded styling style, but it looked slightly tougher, and the overall atmosphere was still moderate.
In 1995, Toyota also launched the Crown Comfort model for the taxi market. The car has a shorter appearance length of only 4695mm, a width of 1695mm, a height of 1525mm, and a wheelbase of 2785mm. It is worth mentioning that the Crown Comfort in Japan has external rearview mirrors located on both sides of the fenders. In terms of power, the Crown Comfort is equipped with a 2.0-liter gasoline engine or a 2.0-liter LPG engine, which is matched with a 4-speed automatic transmission or a 5-speed manual transmission. In order to control costs and facilitate maintenance, the car adopts an integrated bridge non-independent rear suspension, and luxury equipment such as LCD dashboard and leather seats have been cancelled.
In the late 1990s, the 10th-generation Crown JZS155 (commonly known as: Crown 155) model imported into China continued to be equipped with a 3.0-liter inline 6-cylinder engine. The car was equipped with luxury configurations such as rear air conditioning system, rear seat electric adjustment, and rear multimedia control system. The 10th-generation Crown stopped importing in 2001, and the 11th-generation Crown after that was not available in China. Until 2005, the 12th-generation Crown began to be produced in FAW Toyota.
The eleventh-generation Crown was launched in September 1999. The sedan version included the Royal series and the ATHLETE sports series. The station wagon version only had the ATHLETE sports series, and the four-door hardtop model was discontinued. However, this generation of models was only sold in the Japanese market and did not enter the Chinese market.
A Brief History of Crowns (Part 2): The 12th generation of domestic crowns began in 2003
The 12th generation was officially put into production in China in 2005
In December 2003, the 12th generation Crown was officially launched. This generation of models mainly provides four-door sedans, which are divided into: Royal series and ATHLETE sports series. At the same time, MAJESTA returned to the Crown series, while the 11th generation Crown station wagon continued to be sold. FAW Toyota’s domestic Crown was officially launched in March 2005, with a total of 7 models launched, with a price range of 32.8-48 million yuan. The domestic crown is based on the 12th-generation Crown Royal series. The main differences include: the domestic model initially provided only a 3.0-liter engine, and the direct injection technology was cancelled. Later, a 2.5-liter power version was added. The chassis of the domestic crown was raised by 10mm, and the four-wheel drive version was not provided. It also cancelled the active steering headlights and night vision system. The original engine cover was made of aluminum alloy, and the domestic version was changed to stainless steel.
Thanks to the good reputation accumulated by the "old crown" imported into China in the early stage, the crown once surpassed the Audi A6L in the early stage of domestic sales. The domestic crown ranked first in the medium and large car market with sales of 2,992 units in the first month of its listing. Two months later, the crown’s order exceeded 10,000 units. By the end of 2006, the crown’s sales volume exceeded 60,000 units, accounting for more than 30% of the premium car market. In 2007, the crown’s annual sales reached 53,104 units.
In February 2008, the 13th generation of the Crown model was released in Japan, initially launching the Royal, ATHLETE Sport, and MAJESTA models, followed by a Hybrid model. At that time, Toyota established the main competitor of the Crown in the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class models.
More than a year after the 13th generation crown was released in the Japanese market, FAW Toyota officially made the 13th generation crown domestically. On December 14, 2009, the domestic crown based on the overseas version of the crown MAJESTA model was officially launched. The crown models listed at that time had a total of 2.5L, 3.0L and 4.3L three displacement 9 models, priced 326,800 yuan – 899,500 yuan. This generation of domestic models has been further upgraded compared with the overseas version of the MAJESTA. The main changes lie in the length and wheelbase. The domestic model is 75mm longer than the previous generation of domestic crown.
On December 25, 2012, the 14th generation crown was officially launched in Japan. This time, the crown released the Royal series and ATHLETE sports series, and also released a new hybrid version of the model. The MAJESTA version has not been launched yet. The shape design of the 14th generation crown has a relatively large change compared to the 13th generation. It adopts a new big-mouth front face design, a flatter and sharper light group shape, and LED daytime running lights are added to the lamp cavity. In addition, the lines of the C-pillar part are also more aggressive, and the lines at the bottom of the side are more layered.
This generation of domestic crown was first launched at the 2014 Guangzhou Auto Show. Like the previous generation, it is still based on the MAJESTA version of the overseas crown, and the wheelbase is 75mm higher than that of the overseas new generation of crown ordinary version. This generation of domestic models has 2.0T and 2.5L power options, and went on sale on March 12, 2015. At that time, the price range of the model was 27.98-38 5,800 yuan, which is enough for both the overall positioning and the entry price.
In 2018, Toyota released the 15th generation model in the local market. The new car offers three power configurations and will be officially released on June 26. At the same time, the official price of the car in Japan was 460.62-718 7,400 yen, which is about 27-420,000 yuan. This generation of models is based on the GA-N rear drive platform under the TNGA architecture. The engine installation position under the new platform is reduced (the center of gravity is reduced by 15mm), and the sportiness is improved. However, this generation of models eventually failed to enter the Chinese market, and the previous generation (14th generation) was discontinued around 2018.
Can Crown Lu Fang really continue the legend of the Crown series in China?
But the crown’s road in China is over? Of course not, although the 15th generation crown was not in the Chinese market, the crown as a "totem" later appeared in a place that we did not expect. At the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2021, FAW Toyota released the sister model of the GAC Toyota Highlander and named it the Crown Land Rover CROWN KLUGER. The car did not hang the Toyota bull’s head logo, but instead used the crown logo, which was outstanding.
■editorial reviewWhat is it?
After 67 years and a total of 16 iterations, a new crown family has appeared in front of us. From now on, Toyota Crown no longer just refers to the name of a car, but more comprehensive sub-products give it more partners and stronger strength. Based on the TNGA-K front-drive platform, it uses the same platform as Highlander and the new Camry in the future, and its comprehensive strength is evident. However, from the comments under the official picture news we released yesterday, everyone has mixed opinions on this appearance. As more content is revealed, will you change your opinion on it? As a global model, the new crown will be introduced to China as an imported car in 2022 and sold by FAW Toyota. However, I believe that with the launch of the new crown, more news will be announced one after another. Let’s wait and see.
What else do you want to know about the new generation of crown? Or what do you think the price range and competitors are after it is introduced into China, etc. Welcome to the comment area to leave a message, and we will discuss the improvement together. See more exciting content, all in Autohome. (Text/Autohome Zhu Lishen, Zhong Weiqi, Liu Dong)
