Toyota Camry Is Best-Selling Car of 2015

Toyota Motor Corp.’s (NYSE: TM) Camry was the best-selling car in America in 2015, a year in which the Japanese company sold 429,355, according to an analysis of car sales by 24/7 Wall St. However, America’s love affair with pickups put all three full-sized models ahead of the Camry in total sales.

Camry sales were flat for the year, up only 0.2% from 2014. However, it was well ahead of the second best-selling car in the United States for 2015, Toyota’s Corolla, which sold 363,332 units, up 7%.

The pickups that bested the Camry were led by the perennial best-selling vehicle in America, Ford Motor Co.’s (NYSE: F) F-Series, which had unit sales of 780,354, up 3.5%. Ford updated the truck with a partially aluminum body, and analysts viewed this as a risk, although use of the alternative to steel cut weight and improved gas mileage. General Motor Co.’s (NYSE: GM) Chevy Silverado was the second best-selling pickup, trailing the F-Series by a wide margin. Silverado sales were 600,544, up 13.4% for the year. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V.’s (NYSE: FCAU) full-sized Ram pickup trailed in third place with sales of 451,116, up 2.6%. Its annual sales were only slightly better than Camry’s.

The Camry sits in one of the sweet spots of U.S. car demand. It is a mid-sized sedan with a relatively low price entry point at $23,070. Its estimated miles-per-gallon numbers are 25 in the city and 35 on the highway. Falling gasoline prices have not cut into the economy minded, if Camry sales are any measure. Camry also has a wide spread of versions. Among them are a hybrid (SE), priced at $27,995, a sports version (SXE) with a larger engine at a price point of $26,310, and a high-end version (XLE) with a special navigation system and cruise control, which starts at $30,140. All Camry competitors offer nearly as many versions as a means to capture the largest segment of the mid-sized car buyer market.
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Toyota has launched a 2016 version of the Camry. If the update is popular, the car ought to hold is place on the best-selling car list again this year.