TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp will invest $689 million in a new R&D center for low-emission vehicle technology in the eastern China city of Changshu and will start selling Chinese-made hybrid cars from around 2015, the company said on Saturday. Beijing wants global automakers to develop environmentally friendly vehicle technology in China to share the know-how with their local partners. Toyota said the new R&D centre, located some 100 kilometers (62 miles) northwest of Shanghai, would become operational with test tracks and other facilities ready by 2013. It will also cooperate with joint-venture partners and other manufacturers on environmentally friendly technology, it added. Toyota, the maker of Prius hybrid cars, also plans to develop hybrid component technology in China and start selling vehicles with Chinese-made hybrid systems through its joint ventures with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co and FAW Group, it said.
~The Economic Times Oct 22
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