Toyota Camry to leave Japan after 43 years of sales

Nikkei is reporting that Toyota plans on wrapping up its Camry sales in Japan later this year. These currently account for only around 1% of the company’s total Camry sales in more than 100 countries worldwide.

The local dealerships have already received notifications to that effect. Most versions of the car are no longer available for ordering, and the conveyor lines are set to stop before the end of the year.

The manufacturer still intends to keep the sedan alive on any markets where it is considered strategically important. Any new generations – if they ever get released, that is – may also make it abroad later. For Japan, though, the Camry will soon be no more.

Toyota added the nameplate ‘Camry’ to its lineup as far back as 1980. The total domestic sales since that year have piled up to around 1.3 million units. The worldwide sales have exceeded 21 million. In the United States, the model had enjoyed the status of the most demanded light passenger car for years in a row. However, while the company managed to move around 600,000 Camry units worldwide, only around 6,000 of those were sold in Japan. As the demand kept growing for crossovers and SUVs, fewer and fewer Japanese customers were looking in the direction of the sedans.