While General Motors has axed its hybrid version of the Chevy Malibu for the 2010 model year, Toyota hopes to sell about 25,000 of its new Prius-based hybrid-only Lexus HS250 model in the United States in its first year.
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The sedan is the luxury brand’s first model to be offered only with a hybrid powertrain.
“More than 60% of entry luxury sedan buyers said they would consider hybrids, and this is a segment nobody’s in right now,” US Lexus chief Mark Templin told Reuters.
Toyota has sold over a million Toyota and Lexus hybrid models in the US so far, accounting for over half of its global hybrid sales.
It has taken a 75% share of all hybrid vehicle sales in the US over the past decade.
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By GlobalDataAccording to Reuters, Toyota said the Lexus was roomier, wider and longer than the Prius hybrid with which it shares a platform.
Its 2.4-litre petrol engine is larger than the 1.8-litre unit in the latest Prius.
