Proof, if it were needed, that green cars are a truly global phenomenon was shown yesterday when Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd offered $35million for Toyota to produce the hybrid Camry vehicles at its Altona Plant in Melbourne.
The move is a welcome boost for an otherwise spluttering car manufacturing industry in the Victoria area. The hybrid four-cylinder Camry should be introduced to the family car market by early 2010, with around 10,000 models to be built in its initial run.
Should the car prove a hit with Australians, as it has done in America where the Camry was the fastest-selling car in 2007, it could trigger a green car technology race in the southern hemisphere as manufacturers battle it out in yet another competitive marketplace.
Already, car industry experts are predicting an explosion of activity. Richard Cooney, a manufacturing specialist at Monash University, told ABC Radio that while Toyota has a leg-up, other manufacturers will be quick to react.
“The kind of response it’s going to trigger from other manufacturers is to look at their own products and how they can be made more environmentally friendly,” he said.
“If this gives Toyota a leg-up in terms of the fleet market for vehicles then other automotive manufacturers are going to have to look at what Toyota is doing and find a business strategy to match that.”
A spokesman for the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), believes that these cars will be in demand for years to come.
The AMWU’s national secretary Dave Oliver, said: “We’ve been saying for some time we need a plan for this industry as we start to consider the type of vehicles people will be driving in the next 10 to 20 years.”
