2018 Toyota Camry Begins Production

The first copies of the 2018 Toyota Camry rolled off the production line in Georgetown, Kentucky today. Expect the new midsize sedan to go on sale later this summer.

To prepare for the big launch, the automaker spent $1.33 billion earlier this year preparing the plant to manufacture vehicles on the Toyota New Global Architecture. The Camry is the first Toyota vehicle produced in the U.S. to fully utilize the new vehicle architecture and production technology.

Toyota recently added 700 new employees to support the launch of the new vehicle. Since its incarnation 31 years ago, the Kentucky plant has produced more than 8 million Camrys and more than 11 million total vehicles. It’s currently the largest Toyota plant in the world and builds the Camry, Camry Hybrid, Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, and Lexus ES 350.

The 2018 Toyota Camry features an updated exterior design and more powerful gas engines as it moves into its eighth generation. Toyota also lowered the sedan’s center of gravity, introduced new sound-absorbing materials, and made the body more rigid for an improved driving experience. A new eight-speed transmission arrives on gas models, while the available hybrid features a CVT.

The Camry was Toyota’s second best-selling model in the U.S. during the first five months of the year, behind only the RAV4. A total of 147,434 copies were sold through May, down 12 percent from the same time period a year ago.

Source: Toyota

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