Toyota to build hybrid down under

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has encouraged the development of fuel-efficient and hybrid cars in a plan to revitalize the country’s automotive industry. Rudd and Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe recently announced that Toyota Australia will produce 10,000 hybrid Camrys a year at Altona, from 2010. The Federal Government will provide A$35 million (US$34.1 million) in assistance to Toyota Australia to help secure green automotive production. The latest investment is part of the government’s A$500 million (US$487.8 million) Green Car Innovation Fund, which aims to speed up the development of low-emission and fuel-efficient vehicles. Producing environment friendly cars is the centerpiece of a government-commissioned plan for the auto industry, Rudd told parliament recently in a speech marking World Environment Day. “In planning for the future, fuel efficiency, including hybrid technology, will lie at the heart of a new car plan for Australia, to help motorists and to help the environment,” he said. The prime minister said the industry was at a crossroads in Australia, after shedding more than 11,000 jobs since 1996, including the closure of a Mitsubishi plant in Adelaide earlier this year. (July 1, 2008)</P>