LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Kentucky-made Toyota Camry will soon be available exclusively with a hybrid powertrain that supplements a traditional gas-fueled engine with an electric motor.
The 2025 model of the popular sedan will offer "a combination of power and fuel efficiency that is ready to take on the daily drive," the Japanese automaker said in a news release.
The Camry, Toyota's second-best selling vehicle in the United States behind the Rav4 SUV, has long been assembled at Toyota's Georgetown, Kentucky, factory.
Toyota, which has been slower than some rivals to embrace fully electric vehicles, has leaned heavily on hybrids to squeeze mileage from their internal combustion vehicles. The company already moved exclusively to hybrids for its popular minivan, the Sienna.
"It's clear that Toyota is doubling down on hybrids — with good reason; they have been the most successful with those," said Michelle Krebs, executive analyst at Cox Automotive.
Still, the hybrid powertrain will mark a big shift for the Camry. Of the 242,571 Camry's Toyota sold so far in 2023, only about 11% were hybrids, according to company figures. Overall, hybrids make up nearly 30% of Toyota's U.S. sales.
Krebs said the low prevalence of hybrids in the current Camry sales is likely a reflection of the company's inability to keep up with demand.
Toyota is a building a battery factory in North Carolina that is expected to produce batteries for its hybrid vehicles as well as for its first U.S.-made fully electric car, which is slated to be assembled at the Georgetown plant in 2025.
The announcement means that all vehicles made at the Kentucky plant will be electrified. Toyota announced earlier this year that it would stop producing the Rav4 Hybrid and Avalon and Lexus ES sedans at the Kentucky plant to make way for the new three-row electric vehicle.
The plant will still assemble internal combustion engines for the Rav4 and Lexus ES 350, a company official said.
The 2025 Camry will be a conventional hybrid, not a plug-in that can run solely on electricity.
Krebs said one question is how Toyota will price the sedan, as hybrids are typically a little more expensive than their gas-only equivalent.
David Christ, a vice president at Toyota North America, told Reuters that the company believes a hybrid is "worth" the current $1,500-$2,000 premium over a gas counterpart.
