The iconic Toyota Camry, America’s top-selling car, is undergoing a transformation—entering the realm of hybrid vehicles exclusively.
While the Camry currently offers a hybrid version, the forthcoming 2025 redesign will exclusively showcase the hybrid car, integrating a fusion of a gasoline engine with electric motors.
This decision aligns with Toyota’s strategy, where a multitude of models—such as the Sienna minivan, Venza SUV, the Sequoia full-sized SUV, among others—have transitioned to being available solely as hybrids. Additionally, the celebrated Prius, after its recent redesign, earned the prestigious title of MotorTrend Car of the Year.
Toyota’s embrace of a hybrid-only Camry accentuates the growing acceptance and popularity of hybrid technology. What was once a novelty limited to a few models, predominantly during fuel price fluctuations, has now integrated seamlessly into the mainstream automotive landscape. Toyota, not typically known for taking bold risks, demonstrates confidence that customers are ready for a hybrid-only version of this quintessential sedan.
Mike Tripp, Toyota’s group vice president for marketing, highlighted, “We’ve been incorporating electric motors and batteries into vehicles since the inception of the first Prius in 2000, making it a realm we are well-versed in.”
Toyota envisions extending hybrid versions across its entire lineup. Currently, only three models—the GR86 and Supra sports cars, and the 4Runner SUV—lack a hybrid option or have no hybrid variant announced.
This significant shift for the Camry, the top-selling non-truck/SUV car in America for the last 22 years, and an emblematic Toyota model, marks a new era. Although the Camry has offered a hybrid version since 2007, the 2025 redesign signifies a paradigm shift by making hybrid the exclusive choice.
While this move may seem radical for some automakers, it aligns seamlessly with Toyota’s long-standing commitment to pioneering hybrid technology, notes Tyson Jominy, an industry analyst at J.D. Power.
The Toyota Prius, initially a pioneering yet niche vehicle upon its US debut in 2001, emerged as the first widely popular hybrid car after a subsequent redesign. Toyota capitalized on this success by incorporating hybrid technology into various models.
Over two decades, Toyota’s hybrids have consistently gained popularity, with customers still paying premiums of up to 2.5% over the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) for Toyota’s hybrid models, despite significant discounts available for all-electric vehicles.
Unlike the electric vehicle market, which is growing but witnessing discounts due to an influx of similar-priced options, hybrids remain comprehensible for customers, requiring no change in their daily routine. They don’t necessitate charging and simply run on gasoline, albeit consuming less.
Toyota’s cautious approach to all-electric vehicles stands in contrast to other automakers. While offering only two all-electric vehicles in the US—the BZ4X and the Lexus RZ 450e, both SUVs—Toyota expresses reservations about consumer acceptance of fully electric vehicles. The company emphasizes that hybrids, using expensive batteries effectively, substantially reduce overall carbon emissions from vehicles. Nonetheless, Toyota has outlined plans to intensify its pursuit of EVs while expanding its range of hybrid models.
The new Camry, akin to most Toyota hybrids, won’t be a plug-in hybrid. Its four-cylinder engine will both drive the car and charge batteries that power two electric motors, generating up to 225 horsepower in front-wheel-drive models and 232 horsepower in all-wheel-drive variants. As in other hybrids, braking will also charge the batteries.
Amidst unveiling the new Camry, Toyota introduced another hybrid-only SUV model, the Crown Signia—an upscale all-wheel-drive crossover SUV sharing design elements with Toyota’s hybrid-only Crown sedan.
