Toyota is putting a more efficient battery into its Camry and bringing a facelifted model.

 ADVANCE notice of changes coming to the Camry has been given.

A fresh front end styling sits ahead of some key technology improvements that mean an upgrade to the already comprehensive Toyota Safety Sense suite of assists.

What the maker is calling Safety Sense 2.5 includes upgrades to systems such as the pedestrian-detection and adaptive cruise control functions.

The car also takes a new dash design, the big change there being a different touchscreen infotainment set up – it also now a tablet-style arrangement, meaning it sticks out of the dash. 

Before we see this, the hybrid drivetrain that has become core to the car’s appeal will be given a refresh.

Retirement of the current 245V nickel metal hydride battery for the 2.5-litre petrol electric drivetrain for a more efficient 259V lithium-ion battery is set to happen very soon, well before the new look arrives.

Which is when, exactly? Well, don’t be in a rush to grill your dealer – as said, though released now, this news about the mid-life restyling process is very much ahead of delivery time. The changes will not chime in until early next year, in fact.

However, with first Toyota in America and then the brand’s Australia outpost having notified the update, Toyota New Zealand has been compelled to speak, with chief executive Neeraj Lala offering the following in respect to the updates and the brand’s thinking about the ongoing status of a car that has been pointed more toward private sector and weaned off fleet and taxi stand favouritism.

“While the sedan/passenger car customer interest does continue to decline, we have seen a significant increase in Camry sales since the launch of the new generation model in 2018,” he offered.

“Our market penetration for private Camry sales is sitting at 30 percent year to date. We are increasingly seeing customers move towards hybrid powertrains across all our models and Camry is no different with 85 percent of our sales year to date.

“We have had great customer feedback on how it is a great car to drive, and people quite literally can’t believe it is a Camry they are driving!”