Saar: All the newness is in the cabin, including an all-black interior theme, new three-spoke steering wheel and updated faux-wood inserts.

Toyota has silently launched an updated Camry Hybrid in India and it is simply christened as the 2018 Edition. The company has updated the Camry’s cabin recipe to make it a bit more refreshing than before. The list of updates includes refreshed faux-wood inserts, a three-spoke steering wheel (replacing the four-spoke unit), an all-black interior in favour of the dual-tone black and beige, and tan-brown leather upholstery. The asking price for the Camry Hybrid 2018 Edition is Rs 37.22 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

The Toyota Camry Hybrid was always a very sensible choice for people who wanted something supremely comfortable, unbelievably reliable and more fuel-efficient than all the other dinosaurs in the same price range. But it has faced a tough time justifying its price tag, thanks entirely to the increased taxation last year on hybrid cars under Goods and Services Tax (GST). So much so that the Japanese had to pull the plug on the Camry Hybrid’s production for a while to clear out its inventory. Earlier this year, Toyota restarted the production of its sensible hybrid sedan and has now updated it to lure some customers again.

The above-mentioned updates, with those which were introduced in January last year, should make the Camry a much more compelling product in its segment. The only other car which has a similar setup in its segment is the Honda Accord Hybrid but that, with a price tag of Rs 43.21 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) is nearly Rs 6 lakh dearer. Apart from these two, the only other hybrid car in the same sort of price range is the Toyota Prius. It is priced at Rs 45.09 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) and isn’t in the same league as the Camry in terms of space, practicality or performance.

Toyota unveiled the new Camry in May last year. But, with its lacklustre performance in India, Toyota might just skip introducing it in India for now and instead focus on more mainstream products. The company is all set to launch the Yaris sedan in India later this month. That should surely bring some promising sales numbers for the Japanese carmaker in India.