Toyota brings back Camry saloon

TOYOTA is bringing back its Camry saloon to the UK market after an absence of 14 years.

The latest saloon will be on sale next year as a 2.5-litre petrol-electric hybrid taking the number of hybrids the Japanese car maker offers to eight.

Prices and exact specifications are still to be announced but the new car is the eighth generation Camry – a car that has become the world’s best-selling saloon in the medium-executive class.

It sits on Toyota’s new global architecture platform which is said to give the Camry ‘fun to drive’ characteristics while retaining a roomy interior.

In America, where the Camry is built at Toyota’s Kentucky factory, the car is particularly popular and it is also produced in Japan for other markets.

Since it was first introduced back in 1982 more than 19 million have been sold and it currently averages some 700,000 sales a year in more than 100 markets worldwide.

The Camry was last on sale in Britain in 2003 when it was available with 2.4-litre four cylinder and 3.0-litre V6 petrol engines.

It was withdrawn as Toyota switched its emphasis to smaller models and the new model will replace the British-built Avensis which is being killed off as Toyota’s Burnaston factory near Derby gears up to build the new Auris.