Ranz is an automotive marque owned by Sichuan FAW Toyota Motor which specialises in electric cars. It was launched in April 2013.

Name

The Chinese name for Ranz is Lang Shi, meaning "Bright Life".

History

The Ranz marque was unveiled in March 2013.

The first Ranz concept car was unveiled to the public at the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2013.

The Ranz EV, an electric saloon for the Chinese market based on the Toyota Corolla, was launched at the November 2014 Guangzhou Motor Show.

The joint venture of First Auto Works (FAW) and Toyota unveiled "Ranz," a new brand for low-cost as well as alternative-fuel vehicles targeting specifically the local market. At the Shanghai auto show, the first Ranz model, a pure electric, was launched.

Responding to the government’s call to strengthen local R&D and productive capacity, auto joint ventures have in recent years introduced a series of China-only marques. These new brands usually serve two purposes: re-badging outdated foreign models (so that they can be "re-sold" on the local new car market at lowered prices) and designating electric or hybrid models derived from some existing models.

Some suggest the first Ranz car was be based on the "Toyota Dear" concept debuted at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show. The pure-electric is similar in size with FAW-Toyota’s Vios subcompact. The Ranz lineup is also likely to include a re-badged Corolla and Vios.