Camry Hybrid price set at $25,900

Toyota Motor Corp. announced it has priced its new 2007 Camry hybrid — a gasoline-electric version of America’s most popular car — at $25,900, $5,400 more than the gasoline-only Camry.

Preliminary estimates place the hybrid at 40 miles per gallon in the city and 38 mpg on the highway, Toyota said in a statement Monday. That compares to 24 (city) and 34 (highway) mpg for the four cylinder gasoline-only 2007 Camry.

The Toyota Prius, the best selling hybrid on the market, is rated at 60 mpg in the city and 51 on the highway.

The Camry hybrid has a 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine yielding 187 horsepower when combined with the electric motor.

In contrast, the 2006 Honda Accord hybrid is more powerful, producing a combined 253 hp with its 3.0-liter, V6 engine. But the price tag is $5,000 more, at $30,990, and the Accord hybrid gets lower mileage, 25/34 mpg.

Both Japanese auto makers, which lead the industry in the advanced fuel-efficient powertrain, are aiming to reduce the cost of hybrid systems to limit the premium consumers pay to around $2,000.

The Japan-built Camry hybrid goes on sale in the United States in May, and will be followed by a local version scheduled to be produced in Kentucky starting in October. Toyota has targeted sales of about 30,000 Camry hybrids this year. 

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