Toyota Camry records highest sales since Australian production

The Toyota Camry sedan has more than tripled its sales in Australia since the start of this year – and recorded its highest sales in the first third of a calendar year since 2017, six months before the gates to the Australian factory closed.

It has not regained the sales lead in the mid-size sedan category it lost to the Tesla Model 3 electric car in 2022, but with Camry sales up 234 per cent – and Model 3 deliveries down 22 per cent – Toyota is the closest it has been since.

The Toyota Camry Hybrid has accounted for more than 95 per cent of sales so far this year – and or up to a record 97 per cent of the mix at times – and is rated to consume 40 per cent less fuel than the sole petrol-only model, compared to four hybrid versions.

Orders remain paused for the Camry Hybrid in Australia after the books were closed late last year due to wait times in excess of two years.

MORE: Toyota Camry Hybrid orders paused in Australia indefinitely as wait times hit two years

While Toyota may be clearing the backlog of orders at a faster rate, buyers at the end of the Camry Hybrid queue may end up taking delivery of the next-generation version, due in the second half of this year exclusively with hybrid power.

Indicative of the declining popularity of traditional sedans globally, the 'new' Camry is a heavy facelift of its predecessor, rather than an all-new vehicle.

Examples destined for Australia will continue to be produced in Japan, even though it will no longer be sold in its country of manufacture.

Data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) shows Toyota reported 1873 Camry sedans as sold in April 2024, up 226 per cent on the same month the year prior.

It is the highest monthly sales result for the Toyota Camry since 2001 deliveries were reported in November 2019 – the only time more than 2000 examples of the latest Japanese-built Camry were reported as sold in Australia in a month.

Since the start of 2024, 6307 Toyota Camry sedans have been reported as sold – approximately 6025 of which were hybrids – compared to 6865 Tesla Model 3s, the top-selling mid-size sedan since it ended the Camry’s 28-year reign in 2022.

While Camry deliveries are up – and at some of their highest since local manufacturing ended in October 2017 – it is far from its performance 20 years ago.

More than 48,000 examples were reported as sold in 2007 – when the Toyota Camry and its Aurion V6 sibling are included – while in its final year on sale, 2017, the locally-built range tallied approximately 26,100 deliveries.

In 2019, 16,768 examples were reported as sold, while last year 10,581 deliveries were posted.

In the final years of local manufacturing, Toyota regularly offered sharp drive-away offers to drive demand, and keep production at the Altona factory in Melbourne's south-west at the required level to keep local manufacturing viable until the end.

When the Australian-made Camry left showrooms, the base-model petrol Altise was available for $26,990 drive-away – compared to a list price of $26,490 before about $3000 to $4000 worth of registration, stamp duty, dealer delivery and other on-road costs are added.

The latest model was introduced with an RRP of $27,690 plus on-road costs, or about $31,500 drive-away on average around Australia.

Following the economic upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic – and model upgrades with more equipment and power – the cheapest petrol Camry is now $35,051 plus on-road costs, or close to $40,000 drive-away, depending on government charges which vary between states.

When the latest Toyota Camry went on sale in November 2017, the hybrid was predicted to eventually account for more than 50 per cent of sales, after it represented approximately 20 to 25 per cent of the mix in the previous line-up.

By 2018 hybrids represented 40 per cent of Toyota Camry sales in Australia, rising beyond 70 per cent in 2020, 80 per cent in 2022, and 92 per cent in 2023.