Luxury sedan Camry to hit the roads next week   

The world's largest carmaker, Toyota is will launch a new edition of its luxury sedan Camry in the Indian market next week, reports PTI.

 

The company, which has a presence in India through a joint venture with the Kirloskar Group, plans to launch the new Camry version with some modification in its looks, after the sales of the model fell drastically by over 75%, during the April-June period.

 

A senior company official told PTI that the new Camry would have some additional features, including new front grille, headlamps, fog lights and rear view mirrors with indicators to attract luxury car buyers. Camry is sold in India as a completely-built-unit (CBU).

 

According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has lost significant share of the premium car market to its rival SkodaAuto during the first quarter of the current fiscal.

 

While TKM sold 44 units of Camry during first quarter to end-June, against 182 units a year ago, SkodaAuto handed over keys of its recently upgraded luxury sedan Superb to 541 customers during the same period.

 

SkodaAuto registered over eight-fold jump in sales of Superb over 67 units sold in the April-June period in 2008. Camry has a 2.4 litre engine and is priced between Rs2.09 million and Rs2.3 million, while the 1.8 litre Superb is available for Rs1.9 million, as per the ex-showroom price, Delhi.

 

Apart from TKM, carmakers in the premium segment—BMW India, Honda Siel Cars, Hyundai Motor and Mercedes-Benz—lost their market shares to SkodaAuto's Superb, the advanced version of which was launched in March this year.