[Autohome News] Speaking of Toyota’s SUV models in the domestic market, I believe you all know FAW Toyota Prado, Landcool Luze and (|). Among these three cars, the city SUV-oriented Highlander can perform very well in the domestic medium-sized SUV market. Since its launch in 2000, Highlander has implemented Toyota’s "not bad" concept, and with its large space in the same class and good cost performance, it has won the favor of many consumers with rigid demand for household use and large space. Then as the new generation of Toyota Highlander is about to be officially released at the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show, FAW Toyota is also about to welcome its "Highlander", which is the model that this article will look forward to – "FAW Toyota Land Rover".

The main points of this article are:
1. The launch of Land Rover will make up for the lack of mid-sized SUV market in FAW Toyota.
2. The two-car strategy enhances and solidifies Toyota’s sales and position in the domestic market.
3. FAW Toyota branded "Crown" to enhance the prestige of its models.
● What is "Lu Fang"?
Highlander, the well-known English name is "HIGHLANDER". Most people don’t know that this car has another name called "KLUGER", which is the name of the Highlander sold in Australia. From the domestic trademark application information, we know that the English name of FAW Toyota’s Highlander is "KLUGER", while its Chinese name is "Land Range". These two cars are like COROLLA and LEVIN, or Elfa and Wilfa, which are sister models of the Toyota brand.

"Australian version of Toyota Highlander" KLUGER "
The new Highlander and Lufang are both built on the platform of Toyota TNGA GA-K. TNGA is the acronym of Toyota New Global Architecture. According to the official explanation, it is an innovation system involving the value of the entire industrial chain such as automobile research and development, design, production, and procurement. It is a new "car-making concept" pioneered by Toyota. The goal of the TNGA architecture will be to increase the degree of shared parts from the original 20% to 30%, and eventually reach 70% or even 80%. Through the TNGA architecture system, resources will eventually be reduced by more than 20%. For Toyota, the cost of building a new car has been greatly reduced, and it is easy to quickly launch a sibling model based on the same platform, which has laid the foundation for Toyota to rapidly advance the two-car strategy in China.

"GAC Toyota Highlander Declaration Map"
In general, the Lu Fang and the Highlander are essentially the same model, except that the Highlander is produced by GAC Toyota and the Lu Fang is produced by FAW Toyota. After they go on sale in the future, their differences will only be reflected in different appearance orientations and configurations, and consumers only need to choose according to their design, configuration and price preferences when purchasing.
Do you think you just brought in a Land Fang? In fact, it may be "two"
We all know that since FAW Toyota had to stop production of Prado and Landcooluze models in China due to emissions and other issues, the two generals in the SUV field of the brand left like this, which has shaken Toyota’s position in the domestic SUV market to a certain extent. So, the urgent thing at the moment is to regain the voice over the market. In this era of sales-based, FAW Toyota is in great need of an SUV product that can quickly open the market. Under these preconditions, FAW Toyota’s version of Highlander – "Lu Fang" came into being.

"FAW Toyota’s new mid-sized SUV patent picture"
However, because FAW Toyota not only lost two generals in the SUV field, but also in the car field, Toyota Crown also suffered a shutdown, and the shutdown of these high-priced models made FAW Toyota urgently need a car to boost the brand. This time, FAW Toyota intends to make a big effort to turn all its brilliance into the driving force of the new era, brand the crown model, and attach the "high-end" attribute buff to its models, and the crown-land is about to be born together.
Lu Fang will continue to inherit the characteristics of Highlander and use the Toyota logo to create a cost-effective model, allowing consumers to have more choices. At the same time, the "Crown-Lu Fang", which changes the label, uses the "Crown LOGO" with feelings to enter the high-end market and seize the market of luxury brands at the same level and large SUVs at the same level.
● Why push the crown in addition to Lu Fang – Lu Fang?
Speaking of significance, let’s take a look at some basic information about GAC Toyota Highlander. It is a star model under Toyota, a seven-seat medium-sized SUV, and will also provide a 5-seat version. Since its launch, the total sales volume has exceeded one million. The current model price range covers 23.98-32 5,800 yuan. The model configuration plus a wide price range almost meets all the needs of this market and this level. Although Highlander has unlimited scenery in this level, it can be said to be a ceiling-like existence in the overall medium-sized SUV market, but this is both its advantage and its disadvantage. It is imprisoned by itself.
So far, we have to name another model in the field, the Toyota Crown.

"The picture shows the 12th generation Toyota Crown"
Toyota Crown, as early as January 1, 1955, the first generation model was rolled off the production line in Japan, and now it is the fifteenth generation model (the fourteenth generation in China). And I have to mention the most classic twelfth-generation Toyota Crown, code-named GRS18x, this first-generation domestic Crown produced with the concept of "ZERO", equipped with 2.5-liter and 3.0-liter naturally aspirated V6 engines, with an absolutely luxurious standard rear-wheel drive platform, FAW Toyota earned enough face in the medium and large car market. When it was launched, it sold more than 10,000 units a month, and made outstanding contributions to establishing the brand perception of FAW Toyota by hanging the domestic Audi A6 and other German medium and large cars of the same period.

"The picture shows the 15th generation Toyota Crown"
However, it is regrettable that due to the problem of domestic market demand, coupled with FAW Toyota’s eagerness to support the soon-to-decline Crown model, FAW Toyota’s positioning of the Crown model in the domestic market is inaccurate. Data show that the fourteenth generation of Crown sold only 10,378 units in 2019, and the sales of the Crown plummeted, and the brilliance was not there, and eventually stopped at the fourteenth generation model, which was officially discontinued in China on April 28, 2020. Coincidentally, in the Japanese domestic market, a market survey by Toyota shows that people’s demand for medium and large cars has also begun to gradually decrease, and the sales of Toyota Crown have decreased year by year. Therefore, Toyota has decided to discontinue the production of the Crown model, and the overseas version will stop at the fifteenth generation model.
The resurrection of the crown? Only the soul is extracted?
Don’t worry about it, because Crown has actually been resurrected in disguise. Crown has preserved Toyota Crown’s good reputation by virtue of its excellent product quality and the deep impression it has left on people since the 1980s. Crown has become a symbol of Toyota and has become a good story among the people. Now, the domestic SUV market is developing frantically. At this important time, FAW Toyota has transformed Crown from a model into a high-end brand attribute, using good reputation and feelings to enhance the popularity of the upcoming Land Range models, and launched a more high-end "Crown-Land Range". For example, Mercedes-Benz has upgraded the S-Class with Mercedes-Maybach, Audi is about to restart the Horch version of the A8 model, and Buick has launched the high-end Avenir model, all of which are raising the ceiling of star models so that they can compete in the market across fields.
Looking at it this way, the purpose of the Crown-Lu Fang is actually very obvious, that is, to break the difference with the GAC Toyota Highlander. As mentioned above, the Highlander is already the ceiling of the medium-sized SUV, and it has won the hearts of the people. The Lu Fang is essentially the Highlander, and it is based on the same platform. There will be no significant changes in size.

So, FAW Toyota needs a way to highlight the product power of the Lu Fang model, how to highlight it? That is "Crown". FAW Toyota will first crown the Lu Fang "Crown" and launch "Crown-Lu Fang" to surpass the ceiling of the Highlander model. With more powerful configurations, materials and people’s favorite face, the Lu Fang will be raised to a level where it can grab ** large SUV market, thus expanding the scale of competition for the Lu Fang. And if the "Crown" brand effect on the Lu Fang is successful, then the future Crown will be added to the high-end versions of more FAW Toyota models, such as Crown-Wilfa, Crown-Sienna, and even Crown-Corolla. It is not impossible. This is the core market significance of FAW Toyota Crown-Land.
The market needs more segmented models to compete for territory
With the Crown-Land Release, the market demand of "cross-level" and "high-end" will be solved, but at the same time, it is impossible to give up the larger market, so the significance of the existence of the ordinary version of the Land Release will be highlighted. With the support of the Crown-Land Release, the reputation of the Land Release will also be widely known to consumers. Under such circumstances, the Land Release will have the double buff blessing of "Highlander + Crown". After making a configuration difference with the Highlander, it will form another two-car strategy for Toyota, thereby increasing its market share.

For this level, its two-car strategy is of great significance. For a simple example, if the market demand for medium-sized SUVs is 200 units, and GAC Toyota produces 90 Highlanders per month, then it will sell 90 more units, and the total production capacity is limited. However, the two-car strategy allows GAC Toyota to produce 90 units, and FAW Toyota to produce 90 units. A total of 180 units is likely to account for 90% of the market. Market share is a very important indicator for a car company. Once lost, it is difficult to recover.
And, after all, Prado and Landcooluzer will not return in a short period of time. If FAW Toyota is unmoved, this market will soon be taken away by other brands. Therefore, FAW Toyota must have a flagship SUV to stabilize its sales in the SUV field.
● Who are the competitors of "Lu Fang"?
In terms of competitors, in addition to his own Highlander and regular mid-sized SUVs, Lu Fang still wants to compete across levels to grab those medium and large SUV modelsThe market.

As can be seen from the competition chart of Highlander, the crossover medium and large SUVs have already been listed.For example, Volkswagen’s Touon, Buick Angkeqi, etc. These medium and large SUVs have already stood in the top positions in the comparison with Highlander models, andThese models offer more room and higher grades, and are also strong players in the mid-to-large SUV market.

"The picture shows the American version of Highlander"
Lu Fang wanted to compete with these medium and large SUVs. He could either increase his own size and upgrade to medium and large SUVs, or he could only develop towards high-end models. But in fact, the new generation of Highlander has already been listed overseas, so there will be no new surprises in the body size of this model.
Then, in the case of being unable to change their own size, neither Highlander nor Lu Fang can match the models in the medium and large SUV market. But it just so happens that FAW Toyota has the name Crown, and improving the strength of Lu Fang’s models is a breakthrough. Although the size of the new car is slightly weaker, it will definitely do better than some medium and large SUVs in terms of model configuration. In line with Toyota’s good product quality, coupled with Highlander endorsement, and the blessing of a name like Crown, "Crown-Land Fang" Do you think it doesn’t smell good?

Sales of Highlander models from 2020 to 2021 |
month |
monthly sales volume |
year-on-year growth rate |
2020-03 |
7184 |
2.9% |
2020-04 |
7333 |
-2.3% |
2020-05 |
8530 |
-11.0% |
2020-06 |
8998 |
4.6% |
2020-07 |
8555 |
11.8% |
2020-08 |
7777 |
2.6% |
2020-09 |
8984 |
-7.0% |
2020-10 |
8967 |
2.0% |
2020-11 |
9318 |
4.0% |
2020-12 |
8324 |
2.8% |
2021-01 |
11499 |
13.0% |
2021-02 |
4642 |
300.9% |
From the perspective of market sales, GAC Toyota Highlander has a very mature market foundation. According to Autohome big data statistics, Highlander’s annual sales in the 2020 epidemic year were 95,304 vehicles, accounting for 12.46% of GAC Toyota’s total sales; even if it is about to be replaced, sales in January 2021 still reached 11,499 vehicles; while Honda Guandao’s annual sales in 2020 were 52,619 vehicles; cross-level Volkswagen Touon’s annual sales in 2020 were 53,028 vehicles, all of which were defeated by Highlander, so Lu Fang has a very good opportunity.
Then FAW Toyota’s introduction of the Crown Land Release is definitely the right thing to do. In terms of entry-level models and mid-range models, it has made configuration differences with Highlander, and continues to expand its market share of medium-sized SUVs; mid-to-high-end and high-end models have started from scratch, using Crown-Land Release to play high-end quality, to compete in the market of medium and large SUVs, aiming at Volkswagen Touon, Ford Explorer, Buick Angkeqi and other models, while giving consumers more choices. In the future, whether it is because of quality, configuration, or feelings, face, Toyota can satisfy you.
● What can "land release" bring to consumers?
From a product perspective, this is a brand new model, the same as the Highlander but may not be the same. The new Highlander has been listed overseas. Through the overseas version of the model, we can know that the new car is still positioned as a seven-seat medium-sized SUV, and will also provide 5-seat versions and other models after listing. At the same time, in terms of appearance, FAW Toyota Land Rover is likely to adopt the appearance of the US version of the Highlander XES, with a polygonal air intake grille, a sharp headlight set, a large-size heat dissipation opening design for the front surround, and the design of the fangs on both sides to further increase the momentum of the new car. Compared with the current Highlander, it will be more fashionable and dynamic and younger.

"The picture shows the American version of Highlander XSE"
From the side, the new car will re-characterize the body lines to make the visual effect of the real car look bigger. The front and rear fenders slightly protrude from the body to form a wide-body feeling, with rough eyebrows and large-size rims with dense radios to further enhance the new car’s aura. At the rear of the car, the taillights of the new car are also more narrow and long, and the rear enclosure is clearly layered, and a visual effect similar to a diffuser is made.

"The picture shows the American version of Highlander XSE"
The overall workmanship of the new car has been blessed by the TNGA architecture, and the quality is also more high-end. After entering the country, the chassis of the new car will also be localized in terms of driving texture according to domestic road conditions. In terms of power, the land will use a hybrid system composed of a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine and an electric motor. The power parameters are currently based on MIIT’s declaration information. The maximum power of the new car is 192 horsepower, and a high-power version may be provided in the future. In addition, the current 2.0T engine may not continue to be used.
Previously, we have made some real car interpretations of the new Highlander models overseas in 2019. You can learn a thing or two in advance through the following video:
More exciting videos are available on the Autohome video platform
Variety of models, more choices, more laughter, butIncreasing the price without increasing the price is really another matter.
In the future, when the Land Release is officially launched, Toyota is equivalent to having three "Highlander", GAC Toyota Highlander, FAW Toyota Land Release and FAW Toyota Crown-Land Release. The expansion of the product line allows consumers to have more choices, and there may even be no more Highlander hard to find a car, crazy price increases. But after all, the output is limited, and the market demand is still growing, so the price and whether to increase the price are really hard to say. After all, Toyota Land Release bears the reputation of Highlander and the feelings of Crown. This effect must be 1 + 1 greater than 2, and there is no doubt that it will be a blockbuster.

"The picture shows the" Lu Fang "white body in the FAW Toyota Tianjin TNGA factory"
From the previous information,The FAW Toyota Land Amplifier will be officially launched around September 2021.At the same time, GAC Toyota Highlander will also be listed in this time period. It is believed that after the launch of new cars in the future, the highly competitive mid-sized SUV market will become more intense, and even affect the medium and large SUV market. North and South Toyota will each launch a new mid-sized SUV product, which will make the days of competition more uncomfortable, and will further enhance the product influence of Land and Highlander. In addition, FAW Toyota can also take this opportunity to re-establish its position in the SUV market, pave the way for the new Prado and Landcoolzer in the future, and let city SUVs and off-road SUVs complement each other. If this continues, I believe Toyota will perform better and better in the SUV market.
We believe that Toyota Land Farm must be a good car, but there are prerequisites. To sum up, what Land Farm must solve is the positioning of the product itself, whether it is to make up for the market gap, increase the market share, cross-field competition, or regain brand prestige. Positioning accuracy is what FAW Toyota must pay attention to. If there is no problem with positioning, the price will naturally be adjusted according to the delineated crowd and market, which is complementary. After all, in this field, Highlander is really too dazzling. If Land Farm does not grasp the positioning and pricing, it is likely to be the second Toyota crown. (Text/Autohome Graduation)