Toyota Motor Corp., seeking to rebuild U.S. sales momentum for its flagship Camry sedan, plans to position the redesigned car as "smart, safe and worry-free" during a fall media blitz, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Toyota executives told a meeting of 1,223 dealers in Las Vegas on Wednesday that a massive media campaign will be used as part of the vehicle's launch and it will include 40 new commercials, according to the report.
The newspaper, quoting a dealer who asked not to be named, said the campaign would begin in October.
U.S. sales of the existing Camry -- still the nation's best-selling car -- have stagnated so far this year, essentially going unchanged through May at 126,094 vehicles.
Toyota as a whole, plagued by lack of inventory stemming from the March 11 earthquake in Japan, suffered a 1 percent sales decline through May in a market that increased 14 percent. Toyota sold almost 702,000 vehicles in the U.S. over the first five months of 2011.
President Akio Toyoda told dealers the company wants to sell 2 million vehicles in this market by 2013, the Journal reported. The automaker wants to sell 20 new or redesigned vehicles over the next two years, the Journal reported.
Toyoda told dealers the company would be more committed than ever to be a leader in the industry.
"We must earn it with our actions and with our words, with great products and great service and with genuine affection for our customers and our communities," Toyoda told dealers, according to a statement released after the meeting.
