Toyota has sold over 21 million copies of the camry worldwide, including more than 1.3 million in Japan alone in the past 43 years. Although the name is emblematic for the manufacturer, it will not survive the wave of SUVs in Japan any longer.
Everyone over the age of 35 remembers vividly that in the 1980s and 1990s Toyota Camrys were absolutely everywhere. Like the Honda Accords, you could see them at every intersection. However, times are changing, and things that were thought incredible a few years ago are now commonplace. The last of these amazing situations in the running is the withdrawal of the Camry from the Japanese market at the end of the current model year.
The Camry has long been one of the most important products in Toyota’s lineup in Japan. With 1.3 million copies sold over a period of 43 years, it had its heyday. Hit by the wave of SUVs and, surprisingly, minivans, Toyota Japan only sold 6,000 copies in 2022, which is clearly insufficient to continue to justify its marketing in a market where it sells 4.2 million vehicles annually. Additionally, Toyota recently turned its attention to an even more iconic lineup in Japan, the Crown. The latter, more modern and also of intermediate size, is no longer content to be just a sedan, it is now offered as an SUV, a station wagon and a raised sedan. So there are more choices for Japanese consumers. Japanese dealers were notified several weeks ago. Therefore, they are no longer taking orders for the model.
And elsewhere?
The current generation of the North American Camry is nearing the end of its career. Launched in 2017 like 2018, it is ripe for a generational change. Will Toyota drop the Camry in favor of the new Crown? No, although the Camry operates in an ever-shrinking market, it still enjoys the best reputation in the category and, above all, the disappearance of the competition. In Quebec, in 2022, 2,268 units were sold, far ahead of the Chevrolet Malibu (698), Honda Accord (561), Hyundai Sonata (444), Nissan Altima (408), Kia K5 (323) and Subaru Legacy (191). It easily dominates the mid-size sedan segment.
Sold in more than 100 markets, Toyota has sales of nearly 600,000 units worldwide. However, in the United States, it remains the undisputed queen of sedans. Despite the rise in popularity of SUVs, the Camry still remains today, the 5e best-selling vehicle in the United States with some 300,000 units sold annually. It sits behind the Ford F-Series, Ram, Chevrolet Silverado and Toyota RAV4. The Camry is dead in Japan, but it’s still alive and well elsewhere in the world, most notably in North America.
