Toyota’s best-selling vehicle in the U.S., the Camry sedan, is about to get a thorough makeover at the upcoming New York International Auto Show (April 18-27).
“On April 16 at the New York International Auto Show, we will make an important announcement about America’s best-selling car, the Toyota Camry,” Toyota product news manager Curt McAllister announced in a statement, adding that the refreshed model “will challenge conventional expectations of a mid-cycle model change.” That’s quite a bold statement for Toyota.
While Toyota didn’t elaborate on the announcement, we have to assume that the facelift will go beyond the usual approach of redesigning headlights and taillights and putting on a new grille. The current-generation Toyota Camry hasn’t undergone any significant changes since it was introduced in 2011.
Back in January, head of design for Toyota U.S. Kevin Hunter admitted that the current Camry received flack for its looks and that the automaker is looking to remedy that in future models. “Camry’s taken some hits on styling, but it’s still selling well. But we need to create better design for Camry in the future,” Hunter said.
While Toyota CEO Akio Toyota is known to have requested a more emotional design for the next-generation Camry, that may happen even sooner with the facelifted version (or it may not…).
The Camry has been the best-selling car in the U.S. for 12 years, but in the first two months of this year, it trailed behind the Nissan Altima in sales. Camry’s U.S. sales fell 17 percent through February and trailed Altima by 1,034 units. Furthermore, the Camry ceded market share to the Ford Fusion and Honda Accord in 2013. Sales of the Toyota sedan rose 0.9 percent last year as the Fusion rose 22 percent, the Accord 10 percent and Altima 5.9 percent.
By Dan Mihalascu
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