NAGOYA, June 6 – Toyota Motor Corp. said Friday it will start “reverse-importing” U.S.-made Camry sedans to Japan as early as this fall, in a bid to demonstrate efforts to reduce the U.S. trade deficit with the country.
The top Japanese automaker aims to sell 10,000 such units in Japan annually, building them with the steering wheel on the right to suit Japanese traffic rules.
At a Camry-related event in Japan’s Shizuoka Prefecture, Chairman Akio Toyoda said, “If this move goes to help improve the trade balance to some extent, there is hope the tariff issue will be reexamined further.”
Camry sedans had been sold in Japan until 2023.
Toyota’s plan comes as the tariff policy of President Donald Trump’s administration continues to affect Japanese automakers’ bottom lines.
Two U.S.-made Toyota models, the Tundra pickup truck and the Highlander SUV, have already been sold in Tokyo since April.
