Camry hybrid is unlikely in the short-term

DO NOT expect a Camry petrol-electric hybrid any time soon.

At last week's VFACTS sales announcement, in which Toyota blasted local rivals out of the water, the company's sales and marketing chief David Buttner poured cold water on an Australian-built Camry hybrid in the current generation.

GoAuto understands that Toyota Japan is unwilling to hand over dollars to Australia to develop the vehicle, particularly when Thailand is due to begin production of a Camry hybrid with the current model.

Toyota Australia is also looking at the possibility of sourcing this car from Thailand when production begins, leaving an Australian-built version out of the frame until at least 2010 when the all-new model is released.

However, the Thai Camry uses Aurion sheetmetal, creating a dilemma for the local operations and sourcing hybrid components from the Thai Toyota plant may also create homologation issues for local cars.

Toyota in the United States builds the current Camry in hybrid form for the North American market.