Toyota Camry V6 dead in Australia: axed with 2021 facelift
There’s another nail in the coffin for the big six-cylinder sedan.
The Toyota Camry V6 will be axed early next year, following in the tyre tracks of the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon – and marking an end to the affordable six-cylinder sedan era.
Toyota dealers in Australia have been advised the Camry V6 will be discontinued when the facelift model arrives in the first half of next year.
The last production run for the Toyota Camry V6 out of Japan will be in January.
Based on this timing, the facelifted Toyota Camry Hybrid and four-cylinder are due in local showrooms about April 2021, however there will no longer be a V6 option.
The bulletin sent to Toyota dealers says bluntly: “January production is the last month before the facelift (goes into production). V6 to be discontinued.”
Confidential figures show the Toyota Camry Hybrid accounts for the majority of the popular sedan’s sales (69 per cent), compared to the four-cylinder petrol (27 per cent) and V6 (4 per cent).
On those averages, it means Toyota last year sold approximately 10,000 Camry Hybrids versus 4000 Camry four-cylinder models and 600 Camry V6 sedans.
That’s roughly two Toyota Camry V6 sedans for every Toyota dealer in Australia over the course of a year.
The Toyota Camry V6 was added to the line-up after the Toyota Aurion V6 ended production in 2017.
The V6 will be missed by local fans who appreciated its epic performance.
Powered by a 3.5-litre petrol V6 (224kW/362Nm) driving the front wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission, the Toyota Camry V6 was quicker than the last of the homegrown Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon six-cylinder sedans.
The demise of the Camry V6 will leave the Kia Stinger and Chrysler 300 as the only V6 in the family-sedan class, though the Chrysler costs luxury-car money, starting from $60,000 plus on-road costs. The Kia Stinger V6 costs between $50,000 and $65,000.
The facelifted Toyota Camry (a US version of which is pictured below) has received only minor visual changes for 2021. The world’s biggest selling sedan is half way through its current six-year model cycle.
Toyota says it will announce price and specification details for the 2021 Toyota Camry closer to the vehicle’s arrival in local showrooms in the first half of next year.