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REPORT: Toyota U.S. president Lentz believes Prius could supplant Camry as brand's best seller

Chris Shunk — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:31:00 EST

2010 Toyota Prius - Click above for high-res image gallery

The Toyota Camry has been the best selling car in the US for 11 of the past 12 years, and only a total industry meltdown has managed to slow the Japanese automaker's bread-and-butter sedan. Even with that impediment, the Camry still has a comfortable lead versus its archrivals, the Honda Accord and Nissan Altima. In fact, the only vehicles to routinely beat the Camry in overall vehicle sales are the Ford F-Series and Chevrolet Silverado, and those vehicles need dozens of configurations and both regular and heavy-duty variants to retain their overall sales leads. Conversely, the Prius isn't even the second best-selling Toyota right now (that would be the Corolla), but it wouldn't surprise Toyota USA President Jim Lentz if the ubiquitous hybrid hatch passed the Camry for sales supremacy sometime next decade.

Lentz reportedly told Wards Auto that he envisions the Prius passing the Camry in the next decade, but not because he foresees the midsize sedan slipping. Instead, Lentz says, "I think Prius will become just that much stronger." The reason Toyota's top U.S. man sees the Prius taking over Toyota's top sales spot is because he feels that rising gas prices and growing eco-awareness will push more car buyers into hybrids. That, combined with the high regard in which many Americans hold the Prius makes for a very compelling long-term argument. Lentz also says that a full lineup of Prius-badged vehicles is far from a sure thing, though he says he pushes executives in that direction each time he visits Toyota's Japan headquarters

While we can see a future where the Prius overtakes the Camry for sales supremacy, we don't see it happening any time soon. Toyota's world renowned hybrid had its best-ever sales year in 2007, and 2009 numbers promise to fall about 40,000 units short of that bogey. Did we mention that the Camry is still outselling the Prius at a nearly three-to-one clip?

Gallery: Review: 2010 Toyota Prius

[Source: Wards Automotive]

REPORT: Toyota U.S. president Lentz believes Prius could supplant Camry as brand's best seller originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sales Watch: Honda Accord sales creeping up on Toyota Camry?

Chris Shunk — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:02:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Trends, Sedan, Honda, Toyota

While the Honda Accord dominated the 1990s, it has been virtually all Toyota Camry in the new century. Yet a look back at the first six months of 2009 shows that the newer, larger Accord is continuing to gain ground on its chief rival. Camry sales have so far remained top in its segment, with 150,242 sales in the first half of the year. The Accord isn't far behind, though, as it has amassed 131,143 sales through June; only 19,199 behind Camry.

Wards Auto reports that the Accord's gains have been consistent over the past three years, as the sales gap went from 94,004 in 2006 to 80,877 in 2007 and 63,828 in 2008. With sales deeply depressed so far in 2009, though, the numbers can be a bit deceiving. Still, the Camry has seen a 37.4% drop in sales, as compared to 36.3% for the Accord.

Toyota told Wards that one reason for the Accord's improved sales verses the Camry are increasing incentives on the full-size Honda. According to Edmunds, the Accord's April incentives increased four-fold verses the automaker's April, 2008 numbers. Even more interesting is the fact that cash on the hood has increased since April, hitting $2,183 in June. The Camry, on the other hand, had $1,538 on the hood last month; down over $400 compared to May.

[Source: Wards Automotive]

Sales Watch: Honda Accord sales creeping up on Toyota Camry? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The end is nigh? Camry outsold Silverado in April, gunning for F-Series

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:29:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Truck, Plants/Manufacturing, Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota, Earnings/Financials

Could the reign of Ford's F-Series atop the sales charts in the U.S. come to an end? Some believe that it could indeed happen, and it's not even another pickup truck that is threatening the Blue Oval's bread-and-butter full-size pickup, it's the Toyota Camry. Let that sink in for a moment... alright, let's continue. The Camry already posted better sales numbers than the Chevy Silverado, the perennial second-best seller to the F-Series, for the month of April. In fact, the Silverado suffered a sales drop of 24.7 percent to 37,231 units while the Camry grabbed 40,016 sales in the same month. Still, even after the Camry's great sales month, the Silverado holds the edge when the entire year-to-date sales numbers are compiled, and the F Series still sits atop the list for now. Consider too that the Ford truck will get a major redesign for the upcoming model year. So, while high gas prices will likely continue to put pressure on full-size pickups, let's not jump to hasty conclusions just yet.

[Sources: Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota, the Auto Channel]

The end is nigh? Camry outsold Silverado in April, gunning for F-Series originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 May 2008 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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