Camry Lags in 3rd for ’98 Sales

Toyota Motor Co.’s Camry, the top-selling U.S. car of 1997, has stumbled this year as consumers flock to rival Honda Motor Co.’s redesigned and flashier Accord.

Toyota cranked up the sales incentives in May to make the Camry the top-selling car for the month, but it remains in third place for the year. It trails not only the Accord but Ford Motor Co.’s Taurus, the top-selling car for much of the 1990s.

Through May, Toyota had sold 150,615 Camrys, putting it 11,390 units behind the Accord and 4,083 behind the Taurus.

The Accord is larger and more distinctively designed than the 2-year-old Camry and is capturing the fancy of a more image-conscious auto buyer, analysts said.

“The Camry has long been seen as bulletproof but bland,” said George Peterson, a consultant with Auto Pacific Group in Santa Ana. “This time the blandness caught up with it.”

Camry and Accord battled until December for the title of last year’s top-selling car. This year, the Accord pulled ahead fast, with sales rising 24% for the year through May. Camry sales fell 14% in the same period. Camry sales picked up in May, rising 25% from the year-ago period to 44,388 units. After months of holding back on incentives, Toyota cut the Camry’s financing rate in April and began offering rebates in May.

“Toyota didn’t do anything for the first few months, until they realized they were really behind the Accord,” said Scott Hyatt, general manager of Rinke Toyota in Center Line, Mich. “Now, I believe that they are committed to winning the race.”

Camry’s rivals continue to sell briskly, though. Sales of the Taurus, which was restyled in 1995, rose 32% in May and are up 6.8% for the year. Sales of the Accord rose 35% in May, and Honda says it is selling so many that it will resume imports from Japan to supplement production in the U.S.

“We’re not too worried,” said Toyota spokesman John Hanson. “We’re currently trailing Honda by a smaller margin than they were trailing us at the same time last year.”

Toyota may have been hurt by its push at the end of 1997 to win the best-selling car title, which it had never clinched before. Toyota stepped up advertising and instituted cut-rate leases to finish the year 12,500 cars ahead of Accord.

“Toyota caused itself to pull its sales forward into early 1998 in order to win the award,” said Bob Schnorbus, director of automotive analysis for J.D. Power & Associates in Troy, Mich.

Toyota remains the leading auto importer in the U.S., with 8.1% of the market. Counting sales of its Lexus division, Toyota had a 17% increase in U.S. sales in May, its best month ever, but its sales for the year through May were down 2%.

Despite the May surge, some analysts doubt that the Camry will recover enough ground to retain its title for 1998. “Image is having more importance this year to consumers than quality and value,” said Wes Brown, an analyst with NextrendCQ in Thousand Oaks. “Toyota’s motto of ‘Everyday People’ pretty much sums the Camry up, but more and more people want to stand out.”