Toyota will end Camry sales in Japan after 43 years

The name Camry is almost synonymous with Toyota. It would be unthinkable for Toyota to kill its bread-and-butter model off in the US, but that’s exactly what’s happening in Japan. Today, Toyota notified its Japanese dealers that Camry production would eventually wind down by the end of the year, concluding a 43-year history of sales in its home country.

As reported by the Nikkei, Toyota has already halted most of the orders for the Camry in Japan. In some ways it’s the end of an era, but the Camry was never as big a deal in Japan as it was in the America. Since its debut in 1980, Toyota has sold about 1.3 million of them in Japan. Compare that to the 13 million that have been sold in America.

A big part of the sales discrepancy can be attributed to the fact that in Japan, for most of the Camry’s lifespan, Toyota sold two other sedans that were nearly the exact same size. The Mark X and Crown were not only more luxurious and had better name recognition, but were also rear-wheel-drive.

For several years in the 90s the Japanese Camry and the US Camry were completely different models as well. Those were arguably the Camry’s best years in the US, but the Japanese Camrys were narrower to keep within certain road tax brackets based on exterior dimensions. From about 2001 onward, the V6-equipped models were no longer sold in Japan, and from 2011 onward only the hybrid was available.

The Nikkei reports that the culprit for the cancellation is — no surprise here — the popularity of SUVs and crossovers. The nameplate will live on in other markets, including the US. Currently the Camry is sold in over a hundred countries around the world.

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14 Responses to Toyota will end Camry sales in Japan after 43 years

  1. Nigel says:

    Not to sad about this news. I was more upset when the X models (Cresta, Mk II and Chaser) where stopped. Will still take an old Cressida over a Camry.

    • Mark F Newton-John says:

      Well the Chaser, Cresta, Mark II/Mark X were never sold here, but I’d rstill ather have a new Camy TRD than a 30-year-old Cressida.

  2. Crown says:

    I guess this ends the Toyota “C” models?
    back in the ’70’s everything in US was a “C”.
    Celica, Corona, Cressida, Corona MKII, Crown, and ’80’s Camry.

  3. Land Ark says:

    This is a bad sign for the US, clearly the days of the Camry as a sedan are numbered.

  4. john meister says:

    sad to see, I’ve driven a few newer models and love the comfort and handling for what seems like an entry level sedan
    I owned 2 mark x and an Aristo, toyota japan certainly know how to make a high end sedan

  5. Erick says:

    Hello everyone,

    As someone who appreciates the significant impact Japan’s car industry left on the United States market, I can surely say that the Carmy is the car Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors dissed and ignored.
    In a twist, the same manufacturers would forge partnerships to make vehicles that their customers would buy.
    I have a relative who owned a 2004 Limited Camry and it was a truly nice vehicle. I hope Toyota can “internationalize” its offerings for the Japanese market so those can be successful in terms of sales overseas.

  6. Legacy-san says:

    The Camry was introduced as the large flagship sedan for “Toyota Corolla” stores in Japan as an alternative to the “Toyota Store” Crown, and the “Toyopet Store” Corona Mark II (Toyota Mark X”. Operating costs and taxes to own a Camry are not cheap in Japan, and now that the Japanese dealerships have been combined, the Camry no longer makes sense. The Camry was rebadged as the Vista and was the headliner for “Toyota Vista” stores until that network was renamed Toyota NETZ, which is also gone.

  7. Jonathan P. says:

    Any news about whether or not they’re going to be discontinued in the U.S.A.?

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