US dealers will be clear of one more large sedan in 2023, according to Larry Vellequette of Automotive News, who reported this week that the Toyota Avalon is being dropped at the end of the 2022 model year. Originally created out of the Camry by mainly ex-GM engineers in the United States, the Avalon waxed and waned in popularity over the years; a brand new version was created for the 2019 model year, sharing as always with the Camry. It had a 301-horsepower 3.5 liter V6 engine coupled to an eight-speed automatic, with an optional 2.5 liter hybrid producing 215 horsepower (including electric) and 163 lb-ft of torque, good for over 40 mpg.
Toyota has sold very few Avalons in the first half of 2021—only 10,328 in the US, vs 177,671 Camrys. The Highlander CUV, which has roughly the same footprint, outsold the Avalon by 14:1, while the Charger outsold it four-to-one.
This leaves the Charger and 300 with just the Nissan Maxima as direct competition in the mainstream-large-sedan market. The Maxima is not a best seller, by any means: Nissan only sold 9,965 of them in the first half of 2021, and sales had dropped by just 1% from the first half of 2020. By comparison, Americans bought 42,103 Chargers and 11,062 300s.
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