GEORGETOWN, Ky. (WDRB) -- Toyota's Georgetown plant has begun assembling the 2025 Camry, possibly marking the end of vehicles with gas-only powertrains at the Japanese automaker's flagship U.S. plant.
Toyota said last year that the ninth generation of its stalwart sedan would come exclusively as a gas-electric hybrid, with a small battery supplementing the gas engine.
The automaker marked the start of the new Camry's production Wednesday with a pep rally held in a cavernous corner of its Georgetown plant, an area that will soon become the manufacturing line for Toyota's first U.S.-made electric vehicle, a yet-to-named family SUV.
Kerry Creech, president of Toyota Kentucky and the plant manager, said the ushering in of hybrid and electric vehicles fits with Toyota's commitment to eventually offset its greenhouse gas emissions.
"As we're transitioning to electrification and trying to become carbon-neutral, the Camry is one of the largest selling cars that we have in North America. So I think it was a good decision for us to be able to go to all hybrid," Creech told reporters Wednesday.
The batteries in conventional hybrids such as the 2025 Camry typically add upfront costs that are made up later with fuel efficiency. The hybrid versions of Toyota's 2024 Camry lineup carry a premium of about $2,000 in sticker price to their gas-only counterparts.
The elimination of the gas-only Camry means the cheapest 2025 model retails for $28,400, up from the $26,420 sticker price for the gas-only base model. But the Camry is still substantially cheaper than average new car in the U.S., which was $47,244 as of February, according to Kelley Blue Book.
"I've talked to many, many dealers ... They say it's one of the most affordable cars they have on their lot. So we're just ready to go build a bunch of them," Creech said.
Toyota's historic focus on hybrids, which made up about a third of the automaker's U.S. sales in 2023, gives the automaker know-how and economies of scale to make them cheaply, said Mike Wall, executive director of automotive analysis with S&P Global.
Wall said he wouldn't be surprised to see more Toyota models go exclusively hybrid.
"It's a bit of low-hanging fruit for them because of their expertise and sheer strength as it relates to the hybrid technology," he said.
Toyota's Kentucky plant, which employs about 9,700 in all, still assembles the gas-only Lexus ES sedan as well as its hybrid version and the hybrid Rav4 crossover. However, the automaker has announced those vehicles will leave the plant in 2025 to make way for the EV arriving in late 2025 or early 2026.
The Kentucky plant is also one of three that makes gas engines for Toyota's full range of vehicles produced in North America. The engine work will continue, Toyota Kentucky spokeswoman Kim Ogle said.
While the company is offering more "electrified" options, the plant's future products aren't set in stone, Ogle said. The automaker's newest assembly lines can handle any sort of powertrain, she said.
"We are working toward being able to provide what the customers want, when they want it, and our new flexible production lines will allow us to make those adjustments," she said.
