Renewable Gossip

Lexus HS 250h

Toyota is reporting brisk sales of the Lexus HS 250h, its new hybrid-only luxury sedan that launched on July 14 in Japan. The company was targeting 500 sales per month, but has already received nearly 9,000 orders.

The Lexus HS250h—which will become the most efficient luxury vehicle on the US market when it begins selling in late August or early September—is rated at 35 mpg in the city and 34 on the highway. The base MSRP is $34,200. The Lexus HS 250h qualifies as a Super-Ultra-Low-Emission-Vehicle (SULEV).

According to Toyota officials, employees are working overtime to meet the demand in Japan—which is benefiting from a one-year subsidy for eco-friendly cars. Incentives in Japan have helped make the Toyota Prius the No. 1 selling car in Japan for the past three months, and helped put the 2010 Honda Insight in the top five since its introduction earlier this year. The eco-friendly incentives are scheduled to expire on March 31, 2010.

Toyota produced 2,000 units of the HS250h in July. Nikkei reports that Toyota will nearly triple the production of the Lexus HS 250h hybrid by October.

read more