Toyota Camry News

How many new standard-unleaded petrol-powered vehicles – be it ‘normal’ or hybrid of any variety – remain in 2024? From cheapest to most expensive at the time of publishing, the list may surprise you! If we’ve left any 91 RONers out, please let us know in the comments section below.

A study of prices from September 2019 to September 2024 highlights some key models have risen sharply, but as the strong sales continue it appears customers have accepted the new pricing reality.

Toyota has launched the ninth-generation Camry in Australia this week, with changes that run deeper than the similar-to-last-time styling suggests.

Should Toyota consider a taxi pack version of its new-generation Camry?

Toyota’s entire passenger range is going hybrid only from today.As first revealed by CarsGuide earlier this week, the Corolla Cross SUV will ditch its petrol engine variants and go hybrid only.Now Toyota has confirmed the RAV4 and Kluger SUVs and Corolla sedan will follow suit and only be available to order in hybrid form from today. Toyota has already announced its Yaris, Corolla hatch, Yaris Cross and C-HR are going hybrid only.Only the brand’s commercial vehicles and rugged 4WDs will be available with conventional petrol or diesel powertrains.Toyota Australia’s Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Dealer Operations Sean Hanley said the adoption of hybrid vehicles in Australia made this decision possible.“This is not a result of the impending New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES). These are trends that are in the market now. In fact, the new mandated standard confirms the foresight of Toyota’s strategy,” said Hanley.“We continue and we will do even more in coming years to innovate across a diverse range of drivetrains, which is the essence of Toyota’s multi pathway approach.“So in that sense, you could say Toyota has been embracing the spirit of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard for an extended period with our hybrids, plus out move now into BEVs and our comprehensive future model plans that remain under wraps for now. We remain committed to allowing customers to choose the low carbon or no carbon drivetrain that best suits their circumstances.”The Federal Government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) has passed through both houses of parliament and will come into effect next year.This new standard will penalise carmakers for every car they sell that produces more CO2 than a set level. These levels will get harder to meet every year.There are few petrol-engined cars that will escape punishment but hybrids will slip under the mandated levels for a few years at least.In May, hybrid sales made up 48.9 per cent of the Toyota's total volume. More than 46 per cent of the brand's total sales for the first five months of this year have been hybrids.The top-selling RAV4 was more than 95 per cent hybrid the past month, demand for the Camry hybrid was up more than 250 per cent and Corolla Cross Hybrid sales have more than doubled this year.Petrol sales still make up about 20 per cent of Kluger SUV volume, though.The deletion of the petrol options for the Corolla Cross, RAV4 and Kluger means it’ll be more expensive to get into one of these models, too.Hybrid power costs $2500 more in the Corolla Cross and RAV4 and a whopping $6500 extra in the seven-seat Kluger. That big jump is due to Kluger hybrid variants only coming with all-wheel drive and not the cheaper two-wheel drive layout available in the petrol-only versions.That means the new entry point to Corolla Cross range is $36,480 (before on-road costs), $42,260 for the RAV4 and $60,920 for the Kluger.Toyota has no plans to add a cheaper two-wheel drive version of the Kluger hybrid, according to Hanley.The Japanese brand will honour all existing petrol orders, with those cars to be delivered over the next few months. Kluger petrol deliveries will stretch into next year, though.

Toyota Australia has confirmed specifications for the 2025 Camry sedan which will go hybrid-only and lose the mid-spec SX trim when it arrives in the second half of the year. The Mazda6 and Hyundai Sonata rival is a favourite with rideshare drivers, so it’s no surprise Toyota is staying strong with the Ascent entry grade and step-up Ascent Sport trim. The flagship SL remains for keen private buyers. Pricing for the sedan will be confirmed closer to the car’s arrival later this year – expect a bump from the current $35,051, before on-road costs, starting price thanks to its fifth-gen hybrid only line-up. “The move to a hybrid-only Camry range reflects the popularity of hybrid with customers, who appreciate the impressive fuel consumption, smooth driveability and agile performance they provide,”  said Toyota Australia VP Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations Sean Hanley.“Camry is proof that there is still a market in Australia for sedans, especially when they offer the value, efficient performance and good looks buyers are after”, said Hanley. The move follows record hybrid sales for the brand last month led by the RAV4 medium SUV, with more than 95 per cent hybrid sales share. The Camry’s latest hybrid tech incorporates a new lithium-ion battery and more compact transaxle hooked up to a punchier electric motor. Final outputs are not confirmed, but expect power to climb to 167kW in line with the US-market version.  Fuel consumption is also yet to be confirmed but the Camry hybrid is rated at 4.7L/100km in US EPA combined cycle testing. It is the same width and rides on an unchanged 2825mm wheelbase, though is around 9mm longer at 4914mm. A new interior layout and refreshed visage with crisp LED lighting features hide a largely similar Camry underneath with changes focused on evolution, not revolution. The Ascent features an 8.0-inch touchscreen with wireless phone mirroring, 7.0-inch digital driver’s display, two rear USB-C charge points, Toyota connected services, new 17-inch alloy wheels, fabric seats, dual-zone climate control, one-touch power windows and an electronic handbrake. It benefits from safety enhancement, including  front and rear parking support brake, blind spot monitoring, safe exit assist, rear cross-traffic alert, driver monitoring, front and rear parking sensors, a 360-degree surround monitor and improvements to AEB and adaptive cruise functionality. The Ascent Sport’s touchscreen swells to 12.3 inches with navigation, wireless phone charger, six-speaker sound system, different LED lighting features, an auto-dimming rear mirror, leather-appointed steering wheel and shifter and power-adjust driver’s seat with lumbar support.Headlining the range is the SL with 18-inch alloy wheels, rain-sensing wipers, 12.3-inch digital driver’s display, a heated steering wheel, tinted rear windows, air purification, leather-accented upholstery, heated and ventilated seats, power-adjust passenger seat and steering wheel, a sunroof, head-up display and a nine-speaker JBL sound system. 

Toyota Australia has increased pricing for its Camry sedan and LandCruiser 300 SUV for the 2024 model year as of February.

I’ve road-tested 48 cars this year alone and I’ve seen the weird, the wonderful and everything in between. So, out of all of the cars I’ve been fortunate to be in, these were my favourites (in no particular order).

Toyota has ripped the covers from the ninth-generation version of its Camry mid-sized sedan, ahead of an Australian on-sale date in the second half of 2024.

Toyota’s slew of teasers and rumours regarding new and updated models isn’t slowing down, with the brand’s North American arm posting what appears to be the silhouette of a new Toyota Camry sedan.