Toyota goes Touring but keeps working

With sales for the once all-conquering Camry down 30 per cent year-to-date Toyota has joined the growing list of brands with a special edition model. The Camry Touring Special Edition also helps celebrate 50 years of the nameplate in Australia.

Toyota has added $1500 worth of value to its entry level Altise model thanks to both exterior and interior flourishes. The most notable are 17-inch alloy wheels, a rear-lip spoiler, front foglamps, sports headlamps and a Sportivo grille. The exterior also gains a chrome tipped exhaust and '50th Anniversary' and 'Touring' badges.

On the inside the Touring edition adds dual-zone air-conditioning, multi-information display and a six-disc CD changer with two addition speakers (six speakers in total). A leather steering wheel, gearshift and handbrake complete the package.

The Camry Touring Special Edition is priced from $28,490.

The limited run model comes at a time with the Camry needs a sales boost. The latest sales figures show the crucial model for Toyota was down 48.9 per cent in April '09 compared to the same month last year.

Even though Toyota remains the top selling brand in the country it is losing sales across its entire range. The market is tracking at approximately 20 per cent below 2008 but Toyota is down 29.3 per cent year-to-date.

Despite the drop Toyota has strongly denied it has any plans to slow production at its Altona manufacturing plant. In the face of rumours that Toyota will idle the local plant the company has told the Carsales Network it is currently producing 400 cars per day.

Glenn Campbell, Manager of Public Affairs for Toyota Australia, said Toyota would use the period of lower demand to help prepare for production of Australia's first locally built hybrid vehicle, the Camry Hybrid.

He stated Altona has scheduled 17 "non-production" days between March and August this year and would use nine of them for training purposes.

"We're already taking measures to support our operations during these tough economic conditions to ensure we're in a stronger position when the market returns," Campbell said. "The company is training all of our 3500 manufacturing employees at Altona; adjusting the days we are building cars, frozen executive pay and incentive bonus, intensified supplier development and reduced costs.

"We want to use this time to accelerate and deepen the capabilities of our employees so we are ready when the market returns."

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at www.carsales.mobi