Toyota Camry Moves Into Sales Lead

Toyota Motor Corp.’s Camry mid-size sedan, the best-selling car of 1997, recovered from its sluggish start to take the lead in August for the first time this year.

Toyota, the fourth-largest auto maker in the U.S., sold 269,958 Camrys so far this year. Honda Motor Co. sold 266,280 Accords and Ford Motor Co. sold 255,635 Tauruses.

The winner of the best-selling car title gets bragging rights in a crowded market.

The Accord and Taurus led the sales race for the year’s first half, but they fell behind after Toyota added incentives and a new model to its Camry lineup.

Camry sales have also been helped by Honda’s shortages of its Accord and Ford’s decision to pull back high-volume fleet sales.

After coming out of 1997 with its first-ever sales crown, Camry saw its sales fall as much as 23% through April compared with the year-earlier period.

Honda is offering “not a nickel” in incentives on its Accords, as dealer stock is at a record low of 15 days, a Honda spokesman said. The auto maker will import Accords from Japan this month to add to the supply of the Marysville, Ohio-built car.

Toyota continues to offer incentives on Camrys. It also began selling the new Camry Solara two-door coupe last month.