Toyota Australia set a new record for car exports with the
latest shipment of Toyota Camrys to the Middle East last
Saturday (18 December).
The company bettered its previous record of 66,247 vehicles
set in 2003 with two weeks of the year remaining.
Toyota Australia divisional manager export Scott Grant said
that the 2005 export figure almost reached 69,000 vehicles –
an increase of 5.5% over last year and 4.2% up on the 2003
record.
The value of Toyota’s vehicle exports to Australia’s
balance of trade is more than A$1.3 billion.
“Demand for Camry has been very strong all year in our
export markets and we expect that trend will continue next
year as well,” said Grant.
“We will introduce a new model at our Altona plant in
Melbourne mid-year, but there will be no slowdown in exports
and we anticipate another record in 2006.
“Our export
success underlines how Toyota’s Australian-manufactured
vehicles are globally competitive and high quality.”
More
than 90% of Australian Camry exports are left-hand drive
vehicles to the Middle East and the Camry is the top-selling
passenger vehicle in Saudi Arabia.
Toyota Australia exports the Camry to more than 20
countries, including South Africa, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia,
United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and
Kuwait.
