Toyota wants to double its sales of hydrogen-powered cars.
The Mirai is the only Toyota car available with such a drivetrain.
The Crown crossover could technically receive this option, but…
So far, Toyota’s offering in the niche market of hydrogen-powered vehicles has been limited. The Japanese automaker relies only on the Mirai sedan at this time, on top of a bus aimed at commercial fleets, but this is about to change, at least for the local market of the brand.
Toyota Crown sedan prototype | Photo: Toyota
Later this fall, Toyota intends to market a hydrogen-powered version of its Crown sedan, a model that is not expected to be added to the North American line-up soon. On the other hand, North American consumers can already order the utility version of the Crown, as Toyota has decided to bring the model back in a form closer to a coupe crossover for 2023. However, only hybrid powertrains will be found under the hood of this curious crossover.
The automaker reportedly intends to double its sales of fuel cell vehicles with this second car, which admittedly bears a striking resemblance to the current Mirai, at least in terms of dimensions. The Crown will also be available with a hybrid powertrain in the brand’s local market, and possibly elsewhere in the world.
Toyota Crown sedan prototype | Photo: Toyota
The presence of a sedan with a dashboard featuring a left-hand driving position at the recent presentation of the model suggests the possibility that the sedan could cross the Pacific Ocean, but for the moment, this is only speculation. It would be highly unlikely that Toyota would reverse its decision to retire the old Avalon in favor of this Crown crossover and then come back with a sedan technically similar to the old Avalon, but you never know.
In fact, Toyota plans to market all variants of the new Crown series in some forty countries across the globe. As a reminder, in addition to the crossover coupe and sedan, Toyota plans to add a wagon version, as well as a sportier variant of the crossover.
At this time, it’s unlikely that Toyota will add an additional version to this freshly landed Crown crossover, but who knows, with the U.S. representing the biggest market for the brand’s fuel cell vehicles, Toyota might be tempted to double its “hydrogen” footprint in the U.S. and why not, in Canada too, with the craze for everything with a “green” flavor these days.
