CHICAGO MOTOR SHOW: Toyota teases Avalon

Toyota USA has confirmed it will use the Chicago motor show on February 12 to reveal the 2016 Avalon, which could preview the sort of styling changes Toyota Australia's facelift Aurion will bring in May.

No information accompanies this single teaser image, but it's clear the revised US-market large sedan follows the same design theme as the the upgraded Camry.

It's logical, therefore, to assume that Toyota Australia's facelifted Aurion, which goes on sale within weeks of the facelifted Camry in May, could emerge looking not unlike the Avalon.

Unlike the 2015 Camry, however, technical updates for Toyota's flagship Australian-made sedan are expected to be minor.

Fast-tracked into production in a bid to continue its run as North America's top-selling car outright for the past 12 years, mid-cycle changes to the Camry include almost 2000 new components.

Wrapped in an all-new body except for the roof, there are additional spot welds to improve body rigidity and ride quality, improved window and door seals to reduce noise and 10mm-wider wheel tracks and retuned suspension.

Toyota Australia has confirmed its facelifted Camry will receive retuned suspension, and it’s also likely to come with the US version’s upgraded electric steering, new two-stage brake booster and LED daytime running lights as standard.

For Australia, next year's Camry should also bring a host of new driver safety aids including Lane Departure Alert, Adaptive Cruise Control, Pre-Collision System, Auto High Beam and Blind Spot Monitor with Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

If the US model on sale since last September is any guide, Australia's Camry facelift will also bring a new instrument panel featuring a 4.2-inch TFT screen flanked by three-dimensional Optitron gauges, new soft-touch materials throughout, new seat trims 'satin chrome' interior highlights, a new centre console with larger-capacity tray housing 12-volt and USB power outlets.

New US Camry options also include LED low and high-beam headlights and a first-in-class wireless charging system for compatible smartphones.

While it's unclear how many of these changes will apply to the revised Aurion, both cars will continue with minimal powertrain changes. The Camry will be powered by carry-over 2.5-litre petrol and hybrid powertrains, while the Aurion should continue with a 3.5-litre V6 and six-speed auto.

Toyota Australia in August last year received $30 million from the federal government to help fund production of its final Camry, with the vast majority again expected to be exported to the Middle East.

The Camry has been Australia’s top-selling mid-size car for two decades, with more than 850,000 produced here over the last 28 years, but Camry sales were down more than 11 per cent last year.

Aurion sales, meantime, were down almost 25 per cent in 2014, when just over 5000 sales – about 1000 less than the flailing Ford Falcon and one-sixth the volume of Holden's Commodore.

Both locally-built sedans will remain in production for just two and half years before the Japanese giant closes its Altona factory at the end of 2017, after which a new-generation Camry is likely to be imported from Thailand.

Like Holden, Toyota has said it will continue to be represented in the large car segment when local production ceases – in this case with an imported replacement for the Aurion — but it admits that could change if Australians continue to turn their backs on large mainstream passenger cars.