The Camry has been the stalwart model in Toyota’s (NYSE:TM) lineup for more than 10 years and the struggling Toyota is relying on Camry sales to make up for other trouble spots this year. So it is no surprise that the company moved up the release date from mid-October to mid-September. Auto dealers will be happy to have the new car on their lots sooner rather than later.
The company has signaled that sales of its 2011 Camry model will transition well into the 2012 model year. Year over year unit sales are down almost 6 percent for the Camry and its hybrid counterpart. Sales dollars are down even more at 16 percent. The tsunami that halted production of many factories in Japan is blamed for a lack of available Camry inventory on dealer lots. The company believes that problem will be resolved by this month and the results will be evident in September end of month sales figures.
New Camry’s, however, will be built in the good ole USA in Kentucky. Much has been made of the cars becoming “Americanized” but it is still hard to put a 100% made in the USA sticker on a car that was born and raised in Japan.
The car sports several improvements in 2012 including improved gas mileage which is on the agenda for every new car model this year. The Camry is also quieter and has better pickup.
