The Toyota Aurion is a
mid-size car produced by
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
in Australia and parts of Asia from 2006 to 2017. In the two generations it was produced, the Aurion was derived from the equivalent
Camry
The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Camry ...
. Changes were mainly limited to revised front- and rear-end treatment, along with changes to the interior. The Camry-based Aurion was also sold in the majority of
East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
and
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
as the Toyota Camry, with the original version of the Camry sold alongside the Aurion in
Australasia
Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...
and the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
. In the previous two markets, the car replaced the
Avalon
Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...
model, which can trace its roots back to the early 1990s. A total of 111,140 Aurions were sold over the 10 year Australian production span.
The name "Aurion" was derived from
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
word meaning "tomorrow".
First generation (XV40; 2006)
The first generation Aurion was on sale from 2006 to 2012. In Australia and New Zealand, it replaced the
Toyota Avalon (XX10). In some markets this car is referred to as the "prestige" Camry. The Aurion shares most of its tooling, drivetrain, and centre body work, with restyled front and rear ends and interior fittings.
In 2006, Toyota Australia released a heavily enhanced version known as the
TRD Aurion, with a supercharged engine and full bodykit.
Pre-facelift
File:2007 Toyota Aurion Prodigy 06 (edit 5).jpg, Aurion Prodigy (pre-facelift)
File:2007 Toyota Aurion Prodigy 04 (edit 1).jpg, Aurion Prodigy (pre-facelift)
File:2006-2009 Toyota Aurion (GSV40R) Sportivo ZR6 sedan 01.jpg, Aurion Sportivo ZR6 (pre-facelift)
File:2007 Toyota Aurion (GSV40R) Sportivo ZR6 sedan (2015-05-29) 02 (cropped).jpg, Aurion Sportivo ZR6 (pre-facelift)
Facelift (2009)
File:2009 Toyota Aurion (GSV40R MY10) AT-X sedan (2010-07-25).jpg, Aurion AT-X (facelift)
File:2010 Toyota Aurion (GSV40R MY10) Touring sedan (2010-07-19).jpg, Aurion Touring (facelift)
File:2010 Toyota Aurion (GSV40R MY10) Sportivo ZR6 sedan (2010-09-19).jpg, Aurion Sportivo ZR6 (facelift)
File:2010 Toyota Aurion (GSV40R MY10) Sportivo ZR6 sedan (2010-07-11).jpg, Aurion Sportivo ZR6 (facelift)
Second generation (XV50; 2011)
After production started in February 2012, April 2012 saw the release of the second generation Aurion in Australia and New Zealand. The same model designations applied in Australia in tie with the first generation model, those being: AT-X, Sportivo SX6, Sportivo ZR6, Prodigy, and Presara. In New Zealand, the model designations are: AT-X, Touring, and Sportivo SX6.
This nameplate is again based on the Camry. The all new model has been available for some Asian and European markets as a Camry since 2011. The same, separate model designations of the Camry and Aurion are on sale in Australia and New Zealand. For the first time, with the XV50 model, the Japanese market Camry is now based on the same design as the "prestige" Camry or Aurion, rather than the "regular" Camry. The "prestige" Camry was designed in Japan by Hirofumi Fukui, Kazumi Kowaki and Keisuke Matsuno in 2009 and unveiled in Ukraine on 25 August 2011.
File:2012-2015 Toyota Aurion (GSV50R) AT-X sedan (2017-11-18) 01.jpg, Aurion AT-X (pre-facelift)
File:2014 Toyota Aurion (GSV50R) Presara sedan (2015-12-06).jpg, Aurion Presara (pre-facelift)
File:2014 Toyota Aurion (GSV50R) Sportivo ZR6 sedan (2016-07-18).jpg, Aurion Sportivo ZR6 (pre-facelift)
Facelift
The Aurion-based Camry, sold in Japan and other Asian markets, received a large facelift in 2014. It was discontinued in Japan in July 2017 and in Southeast Asia in late 2018, and it was replaced by the
TNGA-based
XV70 Camry.
In Australia, however, the Aurion itself received a much smaller facelift, with little exterior changes. The Prodigy trim was deleted from the range, and the Sportivo SX6 and ZR6 were merged to form a single Sportivo trim. The revised trim for the Australian market were: AT-X, Sportivo and Presara.
File:2015-2018 Toyota Aurion (GSV50R) AT-X sedan (2018-08-27) 01.jpg, Aurion AT-X (facelift)
File:2015-2018 Toyota Aurion (GSV50R) AT-X sedan (2018-08-27) 02.jpg, Aurion AT-X (facelift)
File:2016 Toyota Aurion (GSV50R) Presara sedan (2018-04-24) 01.jpg, Aurion Presara (facelift)
Special Editions
In 2012, the Aurion in Australia released the Touring SE variant. Only 1500 were built, all of which were based on the AT-X. It added a rear spoiler, front fog lamps, as well as a sports grille on the exterior. The interior features contained a similar interior as the AT-X, except it included steering wheel with audio controls and sport pedals.
Sales
Sales of the second generation Aurion commenced in Australia in April 2012. Whilst having a slow start, the end of the year saw the car achieve sales in excess of 1,000 units in both November and December 2012. However, with this, the Aurion's sales progressively got less as time went on, leaving some months with as little as 100-200 units.
The following table lists the Australian sales made throughout its tenure.
Replacement/Successor
Production of the second generation Aurion in Australia ended in August 2017, ending Aurion production after almost 11 years. With this, Toyota reintroduced, for the first time since 2006, the V6 Camry. Like the Aurion, the Camry also ceased production at the Altona factory, with an imported model from Japan coming to replace it.
References
{{Toyota Motor Corporation
Cars of Australia
Front-wheel-drive vehicles
Mid-size cars
Sedans
Aurion
Cars introduced in 2006
2010s cars