It’s time for celebrations for Toyota Motor (TM, Financial) since it finally managed to earn the second position in American-made car index. Toyota’s Camry stood at the second position while Ford’s (F, Financial) F-150 topped the list. In fact, the Camry is the top selling car in the USA, according to a competition in June. Its sales climbed 13.4% in June, clocking in at 40,664 vehicles.
Though the American market is dominated by pickups, its sales are now facing a downturn. This is evident from the sales figure for the month of June, which inched up by 0.6% only. In fact, pickup sales decreased 0.8% to 240,679 units, in the first six months of 2014.
The declining customer interests in pickups enabled Toyota Camry to expand its reach and gain from it. However, Ford’s F-series leads the market with total sales 365,825 units since the beginning of the year.
The fair play
Toyota played it smart when it priced Camry at a low level of $22,425, which is affordable to some of the people. This is for the low end model. But the highest end version, Camry hybrid with all accessories, goes up to $35,000. Further, the best model has a larger engine too, along with some of the new technologies such as blind spot monitoring and latest sound systems as well as navigation systems.
Even for the future, Camry seems to have no competition as of now. The four cars, which compete directly with Toyota’s Camry, are the Honda Civic, Nissan Altima, Ford Fusion and Honda Accord. None of these could reach the sales mark of even 200,000 units in the first half of the year, whereas Camry’s sales were 225,400 units during the period.
Another smart move
Moreover, Toyota recently announced that it has redesigned the 2015 model of Camry. The new model is longer and wider along with chiselled sides. Also, the retailer has changed the car’s exteriors totally, giving it a new look and another reason for buyers to buy it. The new Camry will have latest technologies such as wireless charging system and softer materials are used for its manufacturing. This will attract people who want midsize segment cars with style and comfort.
If we consider the stock price performance of Toyota and compare it to its peers such as Ford and General Motors (GM, Financial), Toyota comes out as a clear winner. Over the last five years, Toyota’s stock price has appreciated 68.3%, whereas Ford and General Motors registered an increase of 44.0% and 9.1%, respectively. Hence, Toyota seems to be racing ahead, when it comes to long term performance.
Further, companies such as General Motors and Ford faced an added problem of recalling some of its cars since it had safety issues. Because of accidents taking place with people, both the companies had to recall many vehicles, which resulted in huge costs.
Key takeaway
Toyota is making up for all the lost sales to Ford and General Motors. Camry has proved to be one of the USPs of Toyota and should continue to do so in the days to come, especially with its new design waiting to hit the market. Moreover, pickup sales have been stagnating, which should throw opportunity for the Camry. Hence, this car maker seems to have a bright future.
