Toyota to produce hybrids in Australia

Toyota Australia will begin manufacturing a hybrid Camry sedan at its Altona plant from the beginning of 2010. Toyota Motor Corp. President Katsuaki Watanabe reported the decision to introduce hybrid manufacturing to Australia to the Honorable Kevin Rudd, MP, Prime Minister of Australia at a meeting in Nagoya, Japan. Toyota Australia plans to produce 10,000 hybrid Camry vehicles each year for the domestic market. The announcement has created a green race between two of Australia’s local vehicle producers – Holden and Toyota – to see which will be the first to bring a frugal hybrid car to dealerships. A senior General Motors executive also recently said Holden would begin selling a hybrid version of its Commodore by 2010. Hybrid Camry and Prius have specially designed four-cylinder petrol engines working in tandem with an electric motor. Energy that would normally be lost when braking or coasting is converted to electricity and stored in a sealed battery, for use when required. Toyota is the world leader in hybrid vehicles with sales of more than 1.5 million units. (June 12, 2008)