Toyota Camry Hybrid Prices Cut $850 to $1,150 for 2012

New on the 2012 Camry Hybrid is an EV mode that allows the car to use the electric motor alone under certain conditions for up to one mile at speeds below 25 mph.

Toyota Motor Sales has cut the price of the new 2012 Camry Hybrid just now arriving at dealerships in the U.S. The 2012 Camry Hybrid is available in LE and XLE grades, and both hybrid models are available at a lower MSRP than their 2011 predecessors. Toyota says they will deliver the best EPA fuel economy ratings of any mid-size sedan available.

There’s a bit of an invidious comparison here, since both the Hyundai Sonata and sister car, Kia Optima, are EPA rated as large sedans with 4 more cubic feet of room. Whether that’s enough to sway buyers remains to be seen.

The 2012 Camry Hybrid LE starts at $25,900, which is a $1,150 decrease from the 2011 model. (A $760 destination charge is additional.) Even with the price cut, this still represents a large $3,400 premium when compared to a conventional Camry LE model. Such purchase premiums are the main reason why after a decade of flawless performance hybrids remain at about a 2% market share in the U.S. – a niche market at best.

Consider that Toyota sold 22,887 Camry hybrids in calender year 2009, which dropped to 14,587 in 2010. The older model Camry hybrid sold 6,714 ytd in 2011, but that was a subset of the more than 252,00 Camry models sold in the U.S. where the Camry remains the best selling car.

An even better example of the limited appeal of hybrids thus far comes form the Koreans. Hyundai and Kia are still selling 2011 models of the Hybrid Sonata and Optima from stock  – they won’t release sales numbers – while gasoline powered 2012  models are now on sale since the 2011 gasoline versions sold out at a record pace since their introduction, even though the difference in combined EPA mileage is a whopping +9 mpg in the hybrid’s favor.

The latest version of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain in the LE model has EPA ratings of 43 city, 39 highway and a class-leading 41 mpg combined. The 2011 Camry Hybrid was rated at 31/33/35, and AutoInformed tests showed that more than 35 mpg was a realistic return on mixed city and highway driving.

The revised 2012 hybrid-electric powertrain, like other revised 2012 Camry models has a newly-developed 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. Toyota says that improved electric motor-voltage control, optimized regenerative braking, and reduced parasitic losses in the transaxle are key to the ratings. Reduced vehicle weight and improved aerodynamics are also factors in the class-leading fuel economy ratings.

The Camry Hybrid XLE is priced at $27,400, which is an $800 decrease from a similarly equipped 2011 Camry Hybrid model, but a $2,675 premium over the 4-cylinder gasoline version. The well equipped Camry comes with an all-new “Display Audio” with a 6.1” touch-screen with Navigation, phone book access, and music streaming with Bluetooth wireless technology, 17 inch alloy wheels and chrome-surround fog lamps.

The Camry Hybrid LE includes 10 airbags, projector beam headlamps, dual-zone auto A/C, Smart Key System with push button start, steering wheel with audio and Blue Logic controls, metallic tech-grained interior trim and tone-on-tone fabric seats among its list of standard equipment.

A beleaguered Toyota Motor Corporation is counting on a revised 2012 Camry sedan to brush aside safety and quality concerns that have haunted it for the past two years. These, along with the production disruptions from the Japan earthquake, will relegate Toyota to the third largest automaker in the world for 2011 after it assumed the number one spot in 2008 and held it for three years as General Motors imploded.

The Georgetown, Kentucky built Camry mid-size sedan – with roughly 80% North American content – can also go a long way toward overcoming the devastating effects of the strong Japanese Yen, which is hurting Toyota’s profits. Camry has been the best selling car in the U.S. for nine straight years.

See also:

• Driving the 2012 Toyota Prius V – Another Hybrid Benchmark,
• Driving the Hyundai Sonata
• Driving a Toyota Camry Hybrid
• 2011 Honda Accord Freshening