New Toyota Crown ‘a great car’ but no local launch yet
Door still open for Toyota flagship that in EV form will easily run from Sydney to Melbourne on a single chargeToyota says it has “no plans at the moment” to offer the advanced new electrified Toyota Crown in Australia, but has left the door open for a possible launch down the track given its local legacy, heritage, fanbase – and the fact that in the next few years the EV version will be able to run from Melbourne to Sydney without needing to recharge.
In an interview with carsales, Toyota Australia sales, marketing and dealer development chief Sean Hanley refused to rule out the Crown as a starter for our market, which earlier this week was showcased in a new prototype demonstrating the Japanese car-maker’s EV solid-state battery technology.
Solid-state batteries are considered the holy grail for car-makers looking to reduce weight and dramatically extend the range of electric vehicles, eliminating driver range anxiety and sidestepping shortfalls in EV recharging infrastructure.
And when you do need to recharge, they’re a lot quicker than current EV batteries.
The new Crown prototype previews the first Toyota EVs fitted with solid-state batteries, hitting the market in 2027 and enabling a claimed driving range of up to 1500km – an easy clear run from Melbourne to Sydney and only 275km shy of a Melbourne-to-Brisbane sojourn without charging.
Other new lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery tech also in development at Toyota will be ready by 2026 and, in Performance guise, will allow a cruising range of up to 1000km – again, more than enough for the Melbourne-to-Sydney stint.
“Crown’s certainly got a good name and certainly has strong brand recognition in this country and it’s a great car,” said Hanley.
“But there are no plans to bring it here at this point.
“You never know your luck, but … I can categorically tell you there is no plan at the moment.”
The new Toyota Crown has been trademarked in Australia and will be sold in more than 40 countries worldwide.
It is currently motivated by petrol-electric hybrid powertrains, but EV versions are in the pipeline, as demonstrated by the latest prototype.
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