Toyota’s Japan flagship Crown car to debut on global markets

By YURI KAGEYAMA
AP Business Writer

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota’s flagship model in Japan, the Crown, is going on sale around the world for the first time, including in the U.S. Toyota Chief Executive Akio Toyoda said the company was aiming for 200,000 vehicles in annual global sales in 40 nations. The Crown’s history parallels the rise of Toyota, but it is not well-known abroad. The 16th generation Crown, set to begin production in January, comes in four varieties _ a crossover with a hybrid system; a sedan, which is the most similar to Crowns seen on Japanese streets; a sport-utility vehicle and a wagon crossover called the “estate.”