The Real Reason Toyota Camry Sales Jumped

By John Rosevear – Sep 10, 2013 at 6:04PM

NYSE: TM

Toyota Motor

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It had been a rough year for Toyota's best-selling Camry -- until August, when sales were suddenly up almost 22%. What changed?

Toyota's Camry had been losing U.S. market share in a big way, but that suddenly changed in August. Photo credit: Toyota

Toyota's (TM -0.91%) Camry has been the best-selling car in America for a while now, but 2013 hasn't been its year. Through the first half of the year, Camry sales were actually down almost 3%. Fresh rivals from Ford (F 0.17%), Honda (HMC -0.75%), and Nissan (NSANY 0.54%) looked to be eating Toyota's lunch.

But suddenly in August, Camry sales were up almost 22%. What changed? The answer turns out to be pretty simple: Toyota resorted to one of the oldest tricks in the auto business. In this video, Motley Fool contributor John Rosevear looks at Toyota's new determination to "defend" the Camry -- and at what that's likely to mean for Ford and Toyota's other rivals.

Fool contributor John Rosevear owns shares of Ford. You can connect with him on Twitter at @jrosevear. The Motley Fool recommends Ford. The Motley Fool owns shares of Ford. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.