Toyota to Turn Camry into Hybrid

The strong yen is forcing Toyota to stop exporting Camrys to North America just as it unveils an all-new hybrid version for the domestic Japan market. The cars will be exclusively produced abroad to insulate the company from currency market fluctuations.

The new Camry will become Toyota’s fourth exclusively hybrid line after the Prius, Prius Alpha and SAI. It will be powered by a 2.5-liter gasoline engine and an electric motor for an improved fuel economy of 23.4 kilometers per liter (61 mpg). Toyota plans to sell 500 Camry hybrids a month in Japan, a jump from the 100 per month of the gasoline version. While the Camry is Toyota’s most popular model in the U.S. and China, it has never enjoyed large sales in Japan due to the local preference for smaller cars like the Corolla and the Prius.

The new hybrid Camry will be priced at 3.04 million yen ($40,000) or more depending on configuration.

The U.S. market is scheduled to get the hybrid Camry in October. The gasoline-engine Camry has been the best-selling car in the U.S. for nine years running and 13 of the past 14 years.

Toyota will introduce another hybrid that will be smaller than the Prius in the Japanese market before the end of this year.