Toyota's new Crown to be made in China next year

Shanghai, August 22 (Gasgoo.com) An insider of FAW Toyota recently revealed that the 13th-generation luxury sedan Crown of Toyota Motor will be made at the No.2 plant of Tianjin FAW Toyota Motor in first half of 2009, said xinhuanet.com today.

The source added that the China-made new Crown will have a longer wheelbase to meet the needs of Chinese consumers. In addition to the stretched wheelbase, the all-new Crown model is 30mm longer and 15mm wider than its predecessor, and it is more streamlined. The 13th-generation Crown retains the sense of poise and reliability that characterizes the Crown series, which has earned a reputation as the leading luxury sedan in Japan.

In May, Toyota Motor (China) Investment Co. announced that the capacity of Tianjin FAW Toyota's  No.2 plant, where Crown and Reiz sedans are built, would be expanded to 150,000 units by the end of 2009 from the current 100,000 units. Toyota is also planning to make Crown's hybrid version later in China.

Tianjin FAW Toyota sold 26,947 units of Crown sedans and 25,828 units of Reiz sedans in the first half of this year, according to Automotive Resources Asia (ARA).