Toyota Camry Hybrid gets nip/tuck for ASEAN market intro

It may have taken a year to make it happen, but the locally-built Toyota Camry Hybrid is finally ready to go on sale in Thailand. This new version of the Camry Hybrid is the first of its kind not assembled in Japan and features unique new front and rear fascias that are derived from the Australian Aurion with a grille that's vaguely reminiscent of the three-bar chrome schnoz used by Ford in America.

Although final pricing has not yet been announced, Toyota expects to sell the new Camry Hybrid in Thailand with just a small premium over the standard model thanks to a reduced 10 percent excise tax on locally-built hybrid vehicles. Thanks to this favorable pricing situation, Toyota expects the Hybrid to make up 60-70 percent of all Camry sales in the region. Soon, the Japanese automaker will begin exporting the Thai-built Camry Hybrid to other countries in Southeast Asia.

[Source: Paul Tan]