Is a Camry Prime even possible?

PHEV Crown is probably the closest we'll get since they're treating the Crown as replacement for the Avalon.

Could they engineer a PHEV Camry? Probably. Will it lose cargo space? Probably. Will they do it? Doesn't seem like they're jumping at creating a PHEV of all the models but they have been adding hybrids to nearly the whole lineup so who knows what will be coming down the pike

 

ford had a plug in sedan that was very effective. unfortunately, sales weren't good enough to sustain it.
it got good ratings, and had a very decent trunk iirc:

2623308


we have been waiting for a plug in camry since we bought our first hycam in 2008.

i am sure they can do it. they always find a way to repackage the battery and charging system gen after gen a la prius.

if they took their time, they could probably get it right the first time, but they might have to start with a new chassis, idk.

in the end though, i don't think they feel there is a market for it. wasn't it only a few years ago when everyone was saying sedans are foing the way of the horse and buggy?

 

but that doesn't mean they coudn't have repackaged the battery if they thought it would be worthwhile.

first gen hycam had a much smaller trunk than second gen, with same kwh battery.

pip had 4 kwh, prime had 8, 2nd gen prime has 10?

also, battery tech keeps improving to wring more range out of same size modules

 

Yep, marketing studies has consumers wanting more CUV/SUV style cars. Toyota would never break-even re-engineering the Camry for a plug-in.
I have a preference for hatchbacks rather than a trunk; but was willing to step into a Corolla hybrid - because that was the only available option I could afford at the time. Further research; discounts and rebates got me into the Prius Prime for less than $1K more.
I believe Toyota will place more emphasis on cars like the Corolla Cross.

 

Then there's the previous Honda Clarity that managed to pack nearly 50 miles of range and power electronics into that sedan platform yet still retained a large trunk (and a small additional sub-floor that could easily hold the EVSE + more).

 

Are you confusing the fuel-cell Clarity with the PHEV?

 

Yeah, new sales are over but plenty of folks still looking for them. PHEV sales have/had no restrictions.

 

The Camry/Avalon platform has a spare tire. Eliminate that and you have room for the bigger battery the PHEV would require.

 

In my 06 Camry hybrid the trunk was plenty deep and had a spare under it but the battery pack was behind the back seats and it had a comically small pass through shoved to 1 side. If they flattened the pack out and spread it across where the spare was you might lose some volume in the trunk but you could get a proper flat space from trunk to the cabin. I do not know it's been a long time since I've seen a camry hybrid.

 

You know what I did test drive some 2016s and 2017s when I traded in my 2013 Prius and at the time I was too underwhelmed by the light beige interior and gas mileage compared to the cool looking gen4 prius I didn't even check the trunk. They were still quite comfortable. If I could swap the Camry front seats onto my Prius Prime I totally would. Scratch that, if I could swap the seats from the top trim ford fusion hybrid I rented a few years ago that would be the dream.

 

The Fusion died when most of the other domestic sedans did. The hybrid and Energi lingered on for a couple years as counter to the F150 for CAFE.

The Clarity FCEV and BEV were lease only on the west coast. The PHEV was for sale nationwide, but after the first couple years Honda only allocated to the west coast. You could get one elsewhere, but had to order it. The car itself might have been rushed as a response to Mirai. The original plan was to do a FCEV/BEV/PHEV model in partnership with GM a few years later. Hydrogen hasn't panned out, and GM has moved on. Now Honda is going to have a couple BEVs built using GM's Ultium.

A Camry PHEV can be done, but sedans still are sort of on the outs, and Toyota is in the midst redoing their EV plans.

 

The next-gen Camry is destined for a hybrid-only shift, which I suspect is where it will stay. We already know Crown & Harrier (Venza) will getting the PHEV treatment. And with the price of RAV4 Prime being out-of-touch for many and overkill for power, it is pretty much setting the stage for Corolla Cross hybrid to also become PHEV... especially since production is already in the United States.

All that leaves a nice opening for 3S to be rolled out in this market, a sedan bZ variant configured to draw Camry shoppers. Since 4X is rolling out now, there's been talk of 5X being next, and we were shown a prototype what looked to be a 3X, that would compliment the planned BEV offerings. Later this month, we'll likely get some detail to that affect when Toyota reveals their revised electrification timeline.

 

Agreed. If they can fit a 13.6 kWh battery underneath the rear seat in the 2023 Prius Prime, it'll fit under just about any seat. The Prius is the first PHEV with the 13.6 kWh battery and combine that with the 2.5L should give it enough power to overcome the added weight. Maybe the Platinum version will be AWD, since it is a TNGA-K platform. The big deal is trying hit Europe's increasingly stringent CO2 limits which is possible with a PHEV since they combine the EV range and gas mileage for their Combined cycle. Personally I'd love to see a Camry Touring Sports wagon like they have with the Corolla, but it would quickly compete with the Crown and/or their plans for the Crown.

Absolutely, I'll take 3 out of 3 @Tideland Prius for cost, weight savings and EPA range/mpg targets. Of course weight savings to offset the battery weight will affect EPA anyways so I'd give weight savings a double score.

The reality though is the new Europe only (maybe Japan too) C-HR will, more than likely, grab the 13.6 kWh setup since it is destined to be PHEV as well. Toyota is waiting to see how sales of the 2023 Prius Prime go as well as real world usage issues before taking that jump.