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Toyota to close Australian design studio

Toyota designers at its Technical Center Asia Pacific Australia (TTCAP-AU) are to lose their jobs as part of Toyota's decision to scale back the facility's activities as well as halting all manufacturing within the country by 2017. The TTCAP-AU, which carries out all its Australian design and evaluation operations, employs 150 designers and modelers and it's possible that its activities with the Camry, Camry Hybrid and Aurion models could be scrapped, raising doubts over its future. Around 2,500 employees at Toyota's Altona manufacturing plant are expected to lose their jobs, although the effects are likely to be wider ranging.

Bankruptcy will delay Chrysler's 2010 model launches, exec says

Chrysler LLC will be late getting its 2010 vehicles to market because of the automaker's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, Chrysler manufacturing chief Frank Ewasyshyn testified today. The current shutdown of plants and stresses on suppliers also threaten to delay the 2011 models next year, Ewasyshyn said. The changeover to 2010 models is delayed while Chrysler tries to emerge from bankruptcy within the next 30 to 60 days, he said.

Nissan future products: Focus is on technology

Nissan Division will be focused for the next few years not just on how to move its product line forward but also how to produce it less expensively. As the company embarks on a multiyear wave of new technologies and a brand-marketing campaign focused on innovation, it also is looking to bring down manufacturing costs through platform sharing, modular components and common parts. The first example of this new process is the redesigned Versa sedan, which will be assembled in Mexico.