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TOYOTA HINTS AT ITS LOCAL HYBRID FUTURE

Toyota Australia has celebrated winning the right to manufacture a hybrid car in Australia by producing a stylish concept car.

Developed locally by Toyota Style Australia, the HC-CV (Hybrid Camry Concept Vehicle) had its world premiere ahead of the 2009 Melbourne International Motor Show.

The unveiling of the concept car marks the start of a 12-month countdown to the launch of Australia’s first locally produced hybrid car, based on the best-selling Camry sedan.

Toyota Australia president and chief executive officer Max Yasuda said the concept car was the most important vehicle on the company’s motor show stand.

“The startling paintwork, dramatic lines and sporty appearance of this concept car convey the excitement and passion in our company to produce Australia’s first hybrid car,” Mr Yasuda said.

“The hybrid Camry – which will share some key design features with the HC-CV – will play a key role in bringing the future to the Australian automotive manufacturing sector.

“It is a future that uses less fuel while delivering better performance.”

The hybrid Camry uses a four-cylinder petrol engine linked to a powerful electric motor.

It produces more power than a conventional petrol-engine vehicle while delivering better fuel economy.

Mr Yasuda said many industry commentators were urging carmakers to produce more fuel-efficient cars.

“Toyota is already the only local manufacturer producing a four-cylinder car in this country. We have been building Camry in this country – in Melbourne – for nearly 22 years.

“It’s been Australia’s best-selling medium car for 15 years – and it’s our leading automotive export.

“Toyota also produces the most fuel-efficient Australian-made large six-cylinder sedan, the Aurion, in Melbourne.

Let the hybrid price wars begin.

A few days after Honda announced pricing for its new Insight hybrid in the United States, making it the first sub-$20,000 hybrid on the market (at least before destination charges), a report has come out of Japan that Toyota has plans for a cheap hybrid of its own.

According to the Nikkei business daily in Japan, as reported by Reuters, Toyota plans to develop a new hybrid that will sell for less than $20,510. It could be priced 20 to 30 percent cheaper than the Prius, and come to market as early as 2011.

Earlier this week, Honda said the 2010 Insight would be priced at $19,800 in the United States, or $20,470 including destination charges, which is nearly $2,250 cheaper than the outgoing Toyota Prius; pricing for the new Prius, due this spring, has not been announced. In Japan, the Insight costs around $20,000, and demand has been so overwhelming that Honda has increased production beyond the original 200,000 it had planned to make over the next year.

Even though the Insight gets far fewer miles per gallon than the new Prius, Honda is counting on customers preferring to pay less up front for a hybrid. Its new ad campaign, which kicks off on Monday, is called “Hybrid for Everyone.”

Toyota Motor Corp has received more than 80,000 pre-sale orders for the new Prius in Japan, Executive Vice President Akio Toyoda said on Monday, unveiling the third-generation model.

Toyota, the world’s biggest automaker, said it was targeting monthly sales of 10,000 units in Japan.

The car, which will start at 2.05 million yen ($21,620), will be sold alongside the entry-level grade of the second-generation Prius, which will cost 1.89 million yen, equal to Honda Motor Co’s new Insight hybrid.

Thailand aims to lure automakers to relocate their production of new-technology vehicles by offering tax incentives for projects worth at least 10 billion baht, the Board of Investment (BoI) said yesterday.

The board, chaired by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, yesterday agreed to designate the new segment of vehicle production eligible for BoI privileges.

“We want to attract new investments from automakers to use Thailand as their production base for exports of new-technology vehicles such as hybrid cars,” said BoI secretary-general Atchaka Brimble.

“These vehicles must be models that have never been produced locally.”

According to Dr Atchaka, there are foreign automakers that have expressed interest in such projects in Thailand but she declined to elaborate.

Under the criteria endorsed by the BoI, companies need to invest in a new production line with the capacity to make a minimum of 100,000 units in the first five years of operations.

Investment, including land and working capital, must be at least 10 billion baht. Interested automakers must submit their proposals to the BoI by 2010 to obtain the privileges, she said.

The incentives include a waiver of tariffs on machinery imports and a temporary waiver of corporate tax for five to seven years, subject to project value and timing of the proposal submission.

Toyota Motor Corp, which has produced hybrid cars in Thailand, would not qualify under the new scheme because the Japanese company had expanded existing production lines for hybrid models but has not made a new investment for production relocation, she said.

India’s Tata Motors would be eligible but has yet to show keen interest to invest in such a model in Thailand.

Dr Atchaka said that US-based Ford Motor Co was considering increasing its investment in Thailand among other countries in the region.

In a related development, the BoI yesterday approved privileges for six investment projects worth a total of 12.88 billion baht.

The first project was a joint venture worth 2 billion baht between Italy’s Faber Industry, a major producer of compressed natural gas (CNG) cylinders, and Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation to produce 200,000 units a year of CNG cylinders.

Other projects approved were:

- A joint venture worth 2.48 billion baht between Thai Summit Auto Parts and a Japanese company to manufacture 1.34 million chassis units and 547,000 axle housings per year.

- A venture by MTP HPPO Manufacturing Co to produce tap water for industry worth 1.12 billion baht.

- A waste-water management project worth 1.13 billion baht.

- A plan by Mab Ta Phut Tank Terminal Co worth 1.88 billion baht to offer transport services for liquefied petroleum gas.

- A venture by Rayong Terminal Co worth 4.2 billion baht to offer transport services of 3.2 million tonnes of LPG per year.

According to a BoI report, applications for investment privileges in May showed a promising trend, with 84 projects worth a combined 29 billion baht seeking approval.

The applications increased from 58 projects worth 24 billion baht in the same month a year earlier.

However, application values in the first five months of this year were down by 9% to 166.6 billion baht compared with 183.6 billion in the same period last year.

source:Bangkokpost

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