Toyota could be axing its mid-sized Camry in Japan, but it says there are "categorically" no plans to do the same here.
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Nikkei Asia reports the company has told its Japanese dealerships it will cease production of the Camry for domestic customers at the end of the year.
"While we cannot comment on speculation regarding our parent company's plans for its local market, there are categorically no plans to stop selling Camry in Australia," said a spokesperson for Toyota Australia.
The news outlet indicated Camry production would continue in that country for export markets. The Camry is also manufactured in China and in the US, and sold in over 100 countries.
The death of the Camry there will also likely spell the end of the rebadged Daihatsu Altis.
According to data from Toyota and automotive information provider MarkLines, Toyota has sold more than 21 million Camrys globally to the end of 2022, with the US market accounting for the lion's share of these sales with 13 million.
Around 1.3 million Camrys have been sold in Japan alone since it debuted in 1980; the Japanese market was alone in receiving the first-generation model, a rear-wheel drive sedan officially called the Celica Camry.
Camry sales slumped in Japan last year with output affected by the semiconductor shortage, with Toyota selling fewer than 6000 units.
Sedans have spluttered in recent years in Japan, with long-running nameplates like the Nissan Fuga, Cima and Teana and Honda Legend being axed this decade.
Toyota's own Crown has also been replaced with a high-riding crossover liftback wearing the same nameplate, which had been used on a sedan for 67 years.
Nikkei Asia reports the Camry has similar customer demographics to the new Crown crossover, and therefore Toyota has reportedly decided to axe the Camry there and instead focus on global markets.
The Camry has one fewer global market to play in, however, with Toyota axing the sedan in the UK. The model had recently returned there after an almost 20-year absence from the market.
Toyota's mid-sized sedan absolutely dominates its segment locally, accounting for 70.5 per cent of all mass-market mid-sized car sales in 2022.
The company sold 9538 examples of the Camry, well above the second-place Mazda 6 (1511 sales, 11.2 per cent segment share).
The Tesla Model 3 managed to push past it as Australia's best-selling sedan last year with 10,877 sales, accounting for a 44.2 per cent share of its segment.
Models like the Hyundai i30, Kia Cerato and Toyota Corolla outsold both the Camry and Model 3, though these nameplates also offer popular hatchback variants making a direct sales comparison difficult.
Camry sales have declined during the current-generation model's run, though Toyota has been experiencing supply issues.
It sold 15,269 examples in 2018, its first full year on sale. That figure increased to 16,768 in 2019, but has declined every year since.
MORE: Everything Toyota Camry
Content originally sourced from: CarExpert.com.au
