What comes first to your mind when you think of Thailand? Monks? Lovely beaches with palm trees? Girls? Forget all that, think about hybrid cars. Toyota has been building Hi-Lux pick-ups trucks for many years in Thailand, and since last year, the Japanese giant also makes Camry hybrids there. And there’s more to come. Before the end of the year, Toyota will start making the Prius in the land of smiles.

So next year, Thailand will have 2 hybrid cars in regular production. Italy has Ferrari and Lamborghini, but it doesn’t have a single hybrid model in production. Italians shall not be ashamed though, as Ferrari makes complete cars, whereas Thai Toyota workers will build cars with their hybrid power-trains coming straight from Japan. But the cars will be stamped Made in Thailand, and that has value.