Toyota Keeps Moving Forward in U.S. Market
 DETROIT, Jan.9, 2006 -- Don Esmond, senior vp, automotive operations, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., showed off the all-new 2007 Camry to media today at the North American International Auto Show. The new Camry not only is offered with 4 and 6-cylinder engines, but also with Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive that dramatically reduces emissions, while offering excellent power and outstanding fuel economy. The 2007 Camry raises the bar in family sedans. |
Washington DC January 16, 2006; The AIADA newsletter reported that Toyota’s redesigned Camry sedan will hit showrooms in March, nearly 6 months ahead of the automaker’s typical production schedule.
When product planning for the redesign began, Toyota planned to trim the usual 5 year product cycle by half a year, a move which will help Toyota move in front of the competition in the family sedan segment.
"To maintain the edge over our competition, there is an initiative to reduce development times," Jim Press, president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc., said at a press event in Detroit, according to Automotive News.
"It plays out as a competitive advantage. Fresh bread is always easier to sell."
Even before the redesign, the Camry out-competed the rest to become the top-selling U.S. car last year, with 431,703 units, contributing to Toyota’s overall 9.7 percent U.S. sales increase last year.
If Toyota repeats the growth spurt next year, it would put Toyota in line to become the U.S.’s third highest-selling automaker, surging ahead of Chrysler.
Toyota’s relentless drive to the top also includes U.S. expansion plans. The largest Japanese automaker considers Michigan at the top of the pile for the location of a future engine plant.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm is courting Toyota, pointing out in Detroit last week that, " We would like very much to have Toyota put a plant here... We have a ready, able, hungry skilled workforce; you could build a plant in Michigan and have 20,000 people who are skilled and know manufacturing and have it as part of their DNA lining up for positions."
