TRD export on hold

The supercharged V6 will not be sent overseas, even though Toyota Australia has a huge export business and there is foreign interest in the car.

The Aurion was developed for Australia, and that means it will be held at home while the new TRD operation gets on its feet.

It probably won't be exported until the second-generation TRD Aurion, sometime after 2010. It is not a priority as Toyota works to establish itself in a field dominated by performance cars from Ford and Holden.

“Yes, we have had a lot of interest in the car. We've had inquiries from the Middle East, the US and New Zealand already,” Toyota Australia sales and marketing boss Dave Buttner says.

“But it's not the right time. We need to focus on the home market for the moment,” he says.

Buttner says the whole TRD operation is a huge learning process for Toyota Australia, from the local design and engineering work to an assembly facility set up by Prodrive, the David Richards-owned company that also controls Ford Performance Vehicles and Ford Performance Racing, alongside Toyota's Camry-Aurion factory in Altona.

He says the company isn't focused on overseas sales.

“We have plenty of time. The current car is not homologated. Several things would need to be done. And we don't want to rush,” Buttner says.

“It is far more important to get things right with this car, and get the TRD brand established in showrooms, before we worry about sending cars overseas.”

Toyota Australia is building a solid reputation for its local work, engineering and design, and the sports-suspension package developed for the local Camry is now in use in the US.