Talk about a halo car. Toyota offered up a mysterious teaser image Thursday hinting at a new model in the works. It took a little detective work for Headlight.News to figure out what it is. But we’ll give the secret away. Check out this report for more on what to expect with the 2025 Toyota Camry.
We’ve been finding a procession of teaser images from Toyota in our e-mail box this week, most of them heralding new concept vehicles set to debut at the Japan Mobility Show next week. But there was something different about the one that just arrived, embargoed for release on Thursday morning.
Toyota’s teaser picture, Headlight.News suspects, is the 2025 Camry midsize sedan.
It truly was a teaser, starting with the headline: “A New Dawn is Coming.” The text itself didn’t offer up much more. “Can you guess what’s on the horizon?” it asked.
It helps to have a contributor who’s an expert on automotive history. With the help of Headlight.News’ Larry Printz, mystery solved: It’s the new 2025 Toyota Camry.
Ring of fire?
Okay, maybe we could have guessed the answer just by looking at the silhouette of the car in this pic. But for those with a long enough memory, you’ll recall the original Camry replaced the old Corona in the Toyota lineup.
(Oh, and Toyota’s pun is fitting in line with the “ring of fire” solar eclipse last weekend. By definition, a corona is “A faintly colored luminous ring or halo appearing to surround a celestial body when viewed through a haze or thin cloud, especially such a ring around the moon or sun.” And that’s what Toyota’s photographer aimed to reproduce here.)
The Camry was the replacement in the U.S. for the Toyota Corona, hence its use in the teaser pic.
Now that we’ve got that figured out, the question is what else do we know about the 2025 Toyota Camry?
Ninth-generation Camry arriving just in time
For one thing, the Camry remains the bestselling midsize sedan in the U.S. market, Toyota dealers moving 217,975 during the first nine months of this year.
But demand is on the wane as the current Camry grows long in the tooth. While Toyota sales overall were up double digits in September, Camry slipped 11% year-over-year to 25,485.
It’s clearly time for a major makeover. The current model, internally known as the XV70, debuted way back in 2017 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit and went on sale for the 2018 model year. It received a midcycle refresh for 2021.
The underlying platform used in the existing Camry, dubbed TNGA-K, is expected to still be used. But, as was the case when the 2018 model debuted, it will be heavily updated, and almost nothing else will carry over beyond the familiar Toyota badge.
Sleeker, more aero design
The new Camry is likely to borrow some exterior and interior styling points from the new Toyota Crown.
Spy photographers have captured images of heavily camouflaged Camry sedans several times in recent months — but other than retaining a relatively classic shape, it’s been difficult to discern much about the 2025 model’s design. What’s clear is that it won’t try to rival the new Toyota Crown which adopts a shape that blends an SUV with a traditional sedan.
That said, the clearest of the spy shots suggest a decidedly coupe-like and more aerodynamic shape hiding under the camo.
Going hybrid
Insiders hint that the 2025 Toyota Camry may have other things in common with the new Crown, notably the drivetrain options. Crown offers a hybrid-only package delivering 236 horsepower through all four wheels. There’s no question that the new Camry will offer a hybrid drivetrain. Recently retired CEO Akio Toyoda made it clear there’ll be a gas-electric version of essentially everything Toyota offers.
As Toyota is doing with its hybrid technology on other products — notably including the latest-generation Prius — it would likely strike a balance between improved performance and better fuel economy on Camry. That’s all the more likely if it were to also offer the optional 340-hp Hybrid Max package.
The real “borrowing” from the Crown will likely occur from the interior cabin.
The question is whether the all-new Camry will continue to offer the current 2.5-liter inline-4 — or some gas-only — option, especially on base trims where holding down costs matters for consumers. The current 3.5-liter V-6 seems all but certain to go away.
Pricing and availability
Inside, look for significant updates. That should include the 12.3-inch touchscreen rolling out on other recent Toyota models, with the automaker’s latest infotainment system. That includes a smart voice assistant that lets you simply say, “Hey, Toyota” to get it to do a variety of vehicle functions.
As for pricing, the current, 2024 Toyota Camry starts at $26,420 and pushes close to $40,000 with a fully loaded XSE model. That’s just about where the Crown model starts. It’s likely the 2025 Camry will see some price hike, especially with a hybrid package.
Today’s teaser image is likely to be followed by clearer shots of the 2025 Toyota Camry before the end of the year. Speculation is that the replacement model will be revealed at the LA Auto Show in November. Expect the ninth-generation sedan to land in showrooms sometime mid-2024.
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