Toyota's New Crown Teased Ahead of July 15 Debut

Toyota plans to unveil a new design for its Crown sedan on July 15, and has released the first teaser shot of the new design.

The teaser shots show a design similar to that seen in a patent drawing released in June depicting Toyota's high-riding sedan (or hatchback).

The mystery car is rumored to be a high-riding version of a redesigned Crown, called the Crown Cross.

On a microsite for the redesigned Crown, Toyota has called it a "sedan?" and "SUV?" and concludes with the statement "Discover your Crown." This suggests that there are multiple body styles to choose from.

Further confusing matters, Reuters reported in April that Toyota will unveil a redesigned Crown this summer and a Crown SUV a year later. The SUV will reportedly include hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions and will be exported to the United States and China starting in mid-2023. An electric version of the Crown SUV is also reportedly planned, but may not be sold in the U.S.

Toyota introduced the Crown nameplate in 1955 on the first passenger car developed and built entirely in Japan. Today, the Crown name is in its 15th generation and is used on large sedans closely related to the Toyota Mirai and Lexus LS. The Crown is not currently sold in the U.S., but is Toyota's mainstay elsewhere (Toyota also has a dedicated sedan, the Century, which is sold at Bentley prices).