Toyota also unveiled the 1/X 'seaweed' car which has been reported previously by the Carsales Network, but the car that will probably draw the interest of serious cash-in-hand punters visiting the Toyota stand is the HCCV (Hybrid Camry Concept Vehicle), a vehicle that is a foretaste of the vehicle that Toyota will commence building at the Altona plant next year.
Toyota's David Buttner believes that the fuel-frugal Camry will account for as much as 10,000 units of production for the domestic market.
"We've always said we're looking at about 10,000+ and we're confident we can do that," Buttner told the Carsales Network. "The interest in the product's really gaining momentum and we're sure that with appropriate marketing and pitching, this vehicle... can go very strongly."
Asked whether the current economic climate had prompted Toyota to bring forward the launch date for the Camry, Buttner emphatically responded in the negative.
"Our manufacturing facility's totally in the pre-production phase. We're scheduled -- still -- to go to production in December, with a launch in the first quarter of next year.
"We're still 100 per cent on track," he said.
During an impromptu door-stop, Victorian premier John Brumby subsequently highlighted the fact that Australia is the fifth nation to join the ranks of hybrid-car-building countries with the introduction of the petrol/electric Camry.
Also read our 2009 Melbourne motor show overview here