Toyota Will Go Green in Australia–and Thailand

Something about cheaper labor in Thailand makes sense, but I guess Toyota also has its reasons for wanting to make hybrid Camrys in Australia as well. The company says it’ll make 10,000 of the green cars in Altona, a city in southeaster Australia.

That’ll make Australia one of the few countries where the Chinese company does its ‘green’ business, including the U.S. (in Kentucky), and Japan. Toyota has plans for 9,000 hybrids annually for its Thailand facility.

Hybrid vehicles, which automakers were not running to make just a few years ago, are turning into serious business. Toyota believes it’s on the path to selling 1 million hybrid vehicles within a few years, prediciting just after 2010.

But Toyota has been the leader in hybrid cars since day one, mass producing the vehicles commercially for over a decade, with the less-than-great-looking Prius.

Toyota shares dropped .2 percent to 5,420 yen, or $51.00.

The price of gas is no doubt playing a huge factor in the success of hybrids, as well as the overall global warming warnings we’re seeing every day from worldwide campaigns, including Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth. And, my friends, if you’ve been getting killed at the pump and shedding tears for the polar bears and their melting ice, it’s easy to see why hybrids and green products in general are exploding in popularity.