Kurt Verlin
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Say Goodbye to the Toyota Avalon

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The large sedan will be discontinued after 28 years in production

2021 Toyota Avalon Hybrid XSE Nightshade edition
Photo: Toyota

Toyota has confirmed it will stop producing the Avalon sedan in August 2022, at which point it will have been 28 years old. Why will the automaker drop a car it has sold since 1994? The global chip shortage may be partially to blame, but the writing was on the wall for some time.

Positioned above the Camry midsize sedan, the Avalon belongs to an automotive segment that has been steadily heading toward a cliff over the past decade as consumers flock to big SUVs. Nobody seems to want large, roomy sedans with a low center of gravity anymore.


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With the Avalon on its way out, the U.S. market will be left with only three large sedans: the Dodge Charger, Chrysler 300, and Nissan Maxima. All of the other competitors are already discontinued, including the Chevy Impala, Ford Taurus, and Kia Cadenza.

Of the current selection, the Avalon is the second-best performing one after the Charger, which — if we had to bet on it — we’d wager will be the last one left in the coming years. After all, at least the Charger fills a performance niche that continues to appeal to customers.

The fifth-generation Avalon was introduced in 2019 and even received AWD tech for the first time in 2021, but hasn’t made a big impression in sales. Throughout the first half of 2021, Toyota sold just over 10,000 units. In 2020, it sold about 18,400 units total. That’s a steep decline from the 60,000-95,000 annual sales the Avalon enjoyed in its pre- and post-recession heyday.


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It’s not that people don’t want to buy Toyota sedans anymore — over the same six-month period in 2021, Toyota sold 155,000 Corollas and 177,000 Camrys. It’s just that the Avalon no longer has a place in Toyota’s own lineup given modern market trends.

Customers seeking more interior space may simply look at the RAV4 SUV and wonder what the Avalon offers over it. The RAV4 starts at $10,000 less, gets better mileage, can tow up to 3,500 pounds (the Avalon is capped at 1,000), and clearly has more room for passengers and cargo.

The Avalon is more luxurious and enjoyable to drive, but customers who care about such things are probably better served by an entry-level Lexus. The Avalon was a staple of the large sedan segment for a long time, but along with that segment, it’s time to say goodbye.