Toyota will begin building and selling a hybrid version of its Camry sedan in China in 2010 according to reports.
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A report in Nihon Keizai Shimbun said that Toyota plans to manufacture 10,000 cars annually in Guangdong province as part of its joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group.
The company is currently assembling a small number of its hybrid-only Prius model in China. Of the 430,000 hybrid vehicles Toyota built last year, only 320 were produced in China. The plant in Guangzhou, launched in 2004, currently assembles Toyota’s Camry model.
Toyota recently announced that its Guangzhou Toyota Motor (GTMC) joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group is to build a second production line at its plant in Guangdong, China.
The new line to make the Camry is scheduled to start production in mid-2009 and will have an annual production capacity of 120,000 vehicles, rising to 200,000 later.
Additional investment of approximately $US380m is expected.
“Once operational, the new line will increase GTMC’s annual production capacity from 200,000 to 320,000 vehicles, enabling it to better respond to the expanding Chinese market,” TMC said in a statement.
The existing line, opened in May 2006, also builds the Yaris.
