Toyota lowers prices on all Camry models
Bloomberg News Service
TORRANCE, Calif. — Toyota Motor Corp. lowered U.S. prices for 2002 models of its Camry sedan, the nation's best-selling car, as expanding sales and a weak yen help Japan's largest automaker maintain a profit in the United States.
The lowest-priced version, the Camry LE with a four-cylinder engine and automatic transmission, will start at $19,800, down $615 or 3 percent from the 2001 model, Toyota said in a statement. The fourth-largest automaker in the United States cut the base price for a Camry LE with a V-6 engine by 4 percent, or $925, to $22,260.
The vehicles, which are built at a Georgetown, Ky., plant, begin arriving at dealerships this week, said Toyota Motor Sales spokesman Sam Butto.
Toyota's U.S. sales have risen 6.3 percent in the first seven months of this year. The automaker also has benefited as the yen weakens against the dollar and U.S. sales translate into more yen, letting Toyota maintain prices without reducing profit. The yen this year through July was worth an average of 121 to the dollar, 13 percent less than in the same period last year.
The Camry has been the best-selling car in the United States since 1997, with sales last year of 422,961 units. For the 2002 versions, Toyota phased out the Camry CE, which had been the entry-level model. The LE will be the base model, and Toyota also will sell the XLE and SE, a new sport edition, Butto said.
The starting price for a Camry XLE will be $22,295, 7.5 percent less than the 2001 version, while base prices for the Camry SE will range from $20,310 to $23,700 depending on engine size and transmission type, the company said.
