Visitors look at a Toyota Camry car during the 2019 Bangkok Motor Show in Bangkok, Thailand, July 4, 2019. Picture taken July 4, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha acquire license rights
DETROIT, Nov 14 (Reuters) – The next generation of the Toyota Camry, the best-selling sedan in the U.S. market, will be offered only with a gas-electric hybrid powertrain, the Japanese automaker’s boldest move yet to push hybrid technology into the heart of the American market.
The 2025 Camry will combine a 2.5-liter gasoline engine with an electric drive system tuned to deliver more power in both front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive versions of the car, Toyota said.
Compliance with stricter U.S. fuel economy rules was a factor in Toyota’s decision to make the new Camry an all-hybrid line of vehicles, dropping the four- and six-cylinder internal combustion models that made up about 85 percent of sales for the current model year , David Crist, head of Toyota’s North American brand, told Reuters. Another factor behind the decision was “the performance we were able to get out of the hybrid,” he said.
Although Toyota has accelerated the development of electric vehicle technology, it is still betting that demand for hybrids and plug-in hybrids will remain stable as the automaker takes a “multi-track” approach, seeking to meet the needs of customers in every market .
The hybrid powertrain and new electronic all-wheel drive system deliver 232 combined horsepower — nearly 15 percent more than the outgoing Camry with mechanical all-wheel drive, Toyota said.
Toyota executives unveiled the ninth generation of the Camry midsize sedan on Tuesday in Los Angeles, ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show, which opens on Friday.
The new Camry will compete in a segment largely abandoned by Detroit marques, with the exception of General Motors’ ( GM.N ) Chevrolet Malibu. The new Camry’s direct competitors — dozens of compact and midsize SUVs aside — will include several remaining sedans such as Honda’s ( 7267.T ) Accord, Hyundai’s ( 005380.KS ) Sonata and Tesla’s ( TSLA.O ) all-electric Model 3.
The Tesla Model 3 outsold the Camry in California, a key market for Toyota, in the first nine months of 2023, according to data from the California New Car Dealers Association.
Toyota has not disclosed pricing or fuel efficiency figures for the 2025 Camry, which is due in showrooms next spring. The cheapest hybrid Camry model currently sells for about $2,400 more than the cheapest internal combustion Camry.
Most of the hybrid powertrains sell for a $1,500 to $2,000 premium over internal combustion models, Crist said. “We think the value that hybrid powertrain brings is worth that kind of premium.”
The current Camry hybrid is rated at 52 mpg (84 km) in combined city and highway driving, compared to a 32 mpg rating for the conventional four-cylinder Camry. The hybrid saves $650 a year in fuel costs compared to the combustion model, according to U.S. government fuel economy data.
Toyota previously switched its Sienna minivan to a full hybrid powertrain approach. The Sienna is “our second fastest cornering car and the car we have the most reservations about,” Christos said.
Reporting by Joe White in Detroit Editing by Matthew Lewis
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