Automotive enthusiasts were not exactly thrilled with the new Camry, but for mainstream America, Toyota’s bread-and-butter sedan model remains the first choice for a large number of buyers.
In fact, with first-quarter sales of 105,405 units, the Camry is not only leading the pack in the passenger car segment with some 9,000 sales more than the second Nissan Altima, but if it continues at the current pace, it could very well break the 400,000-unit barrier for the first time since 2008.
The Camry’s deliveries in the States peaked in 2007 when it sold 473,108 cars, but the recession that followed along with the hugely damaging unintended acceleration issues and more recently, Japan’s catastrophic earthquake and tsunami, resulted in sales stumbling to 308,510 units last year. Nevertheless, the Camry was still able to hold the title of America’s best-selling passenger car.
Autonews reported that in March, Toyota sold 42,567 Camry sedans, of which 20 percent were rental sales that seem to be picking up this year.
However, even though the Camry is on track to finish first in the passenger car category this year, Autonews says that it might not be able to “crack the 400,000” mark.
The reason is that 2012 will see a great number of redesigned models entering the market including the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, the 2013 Nissan Altima that was presented in New York and which will reach showrooms in June, and the 2013 Ford Fusion and Honda Accord, both of which go on sale this fall.
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