Toyota’s UK arm is expecting to sell between 600 and 800 Lexus GS450h hybrid models – 30-40% of total volume – following the launch next May.
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Spokesman David Crouch told just-auto that the company sold 1,820 GS models in 2005 – the line was fully redesigned last March – and expected sales of around 2,000 annually this year and next.
Petrol GS models range in price here from GBP30,760 to GBP47,115 and Crouch said the hybrid version would cost GBP6-8,000 extra though, like the equivalent RX400h hybrid SUV, it would have a top-of-the-line specification and additional equipment.
Toyota GB launched the RX400h last June and sold 1,625 in 2005, out of 4,538 RXs in total. It has now sold 2,038 of this first Lexus hybrid and expects to end the year with about 3,850 sales.
Launching the car in Japan earlier on Thursday, Toyota said the GS450h is powered by the world’s first commercially mass produced hybrid system specially designed for rear-wheel drive vehicles.
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By GlobalDataThe model, powered by both an electric motor and a petrol engine, goes on sale in North America and Japan next month and reaches Europe in May.
The automaker is targeting global sales of 5,700 units this year – 2,000 vehicles in North America, another 2,000 in Europe (the projected 600-800 UK sales reflect that the country is Lexus’ largest market on the continent), 1,500 in Japan and 200 elsewhere.
Reports from Japan on Thursday noted that Toyota initially developed its hybrid system for the front-wheel drive Prius compact car, first launched in Japan in 1997, and that some design changes were needed to adapt it for the GS450h, which achieves 14.2 kilometres on a litre, or about 34 miles per (imperial) gallon.
The GS450h has a 3.5 litre petrol engine but is claimed to deliver the driving sensation of a 4.5 litre engine on a standard vehicle as well as the fuel economy of an equivalent model with a two litre engine, according to Toyota officials. This is similar to the claim Honda makes for its hybrid Accord – six-cylinder power with four-cylinder economy.
“The Lexus brand must pursue the essence of luxury, and that includes cutting-edge technology,” President Katsuaki Watanabe told the Associated Press (AP) at a Tokyo showroom. “It’s a good opportunity to highlight the technological strength of the hybrid.”
The car also has an advanced safety feature, billed by Toyota as another world first, that uses sensors to detect cars ahead and adds a camera on the steering wheel to judge whether the driver is facing the front or not. If the driver is looking away, the emergency brakes activate faster in a potential crash situation, according to AP’s report.
The Lexus brand was introduced in Japan only last year. Some models had previously been sold there but badged as Toyotas – the LS as the Celsior, for example.
The Associated Press said Lexus sales in Japan have struggled at about 10,100 over four months last year, falling short of the target to sell 20,000 vehicles during that period because Japanese luxury buyers have generally preferred European brands like BMWs and Mercedes.
Watanabe reportedly said the numbers weren’t too bad and acknowledged it takes time to develop a reputation for a brand like Lexus. Toyota is targeting sales of 40,000 Lexus vehicles in Japan this year, but has sold about 3,300 in the first two months.
Graeme Roberts
