Motoring

The Future of Hybrids

Date Added: 25/09/2008

Toyota has achieved a great success with its hybrid Prius in Australia – with more than ten thousand being sold so far. Hybrid cars which are powered by a combination of a petrol and electrical engine have been regularly imported into Australia rather than being built here. That is all changing because of the new Toyota Camry. This new Camry is a hybrid car, which is set to be manufactured locally and made available on the Australian market soon. This will be Australia's first locally built hybrid car.
 
Toyota has been building 4 –cylinder Camry's and 6- cylinder Aurion's at its Altona plant in Victoria for some time. Plans to start rolling out new hybrid Camry's from Altona, near Melbourne, will start in 2010. The hybrid Camry is already on the market in Japan and the United States, where it sells 60 thousand a year. In the US, the Hybrid Camry has a 2.4 litre petrol engine with an electric motor, which produces 140 kilowatts of power. 
 
The Australian model is expected to use between 6 – 7 litres of petrol per 100kms travelled. This is two thirds the consumption of the current 4 cylinder vehicle. Which means the Camry owner can save up to $1000 a year in fuel (this is based on 15,000 kilometres a year usage and current fuel prices). 
 
Links to check out for more information:
- Toyota to build hybrid Camry