Lexus HS 250h tops 1,500 pre-orders in Japan
07-13-09, 07:51 PM
#16
Furthermore, the hybrid fans who are trying to save on Gas money won't be too thrilled with the $220 Lexus charges for an oil change.
07-13-09, 07:58 PM
#17
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I'm not sure why would anyone pick this over a Prius. It gets worse mileage than the Prius, looks less distinctive, and cost too much for the performance it offers.
Furthermore, the hybrid fans who are trying to save on Gas money won't be too thrilled with the $220 Lexus charges for an oil change.
Furthermore, the hybrid fans who are trying to save on Gas money won't be too thrilled with the $220 Lexus charges for an oil change.
It offers more features.
Better build quality
Handles better
It is faster
More options
Looks better (arguably)
Is built partially with eco plastics (no other car can claim this)
Lexus service/Reliability
Remote touch
Lexus connect/entouch
Cameras inside, outside, front, back...
Higher grade instrumentation
Better leather, real wood
I believe when you buy a Lexus you become aware of the costs of maintenance and can afford it.
This car is its own segment with no direct competition.
07-13-09, 07:59 PM
#18
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I also agree with 1SICKLEX's comments in the post above.
Furthermore, the hybrid fans who are trying to save on Gas money won't be too thrilled with the $220 Lexus charges for an oil change.
07-13-09, 08:02 PM
#19
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Originally Posted by 1SICKLEX
I believe when you buy a Lexus you become aware of the costs of maintenance and can afford it.
This car is its own segment with no direct competition.
07-13-09, 08:14 PM
#20
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....I'd be fine with the Subaru flat 2.5L in there. (wink wink)
07-13-09, 08:16 PM
#21
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Ah, but they could have had more power and better fuel economy had they waited to install the new 4 cylinder. The 2.4L is sooo damn old. That's the only thing that I don't care for in this car. I just feel like a dedicated luxury hybrid should feature and engine with a now rather common technology called direct injection. We all know it.
....I'd be fine with the Subaru flat 2.5L in there. (wink wink)
....I'd be fine with the Subaru flat 2.5L in there. (wink wink)
07-13-09, 08:24 PM
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Oh I am sure it will get it when the Camry gets it. And hopefully it will be as revolutionary as the Ford Fusion hybrid. I don't think it will be direct inject given the current trend of things. HS250h with a 2.5L engine though doesn't seem right...though its not like the last gen ES or even the RX didn't change any numbers.
07-13-09, 09:06 PM
#23
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07-14-09, 03:52 PM
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A new article from Automotive News Europe says that Japan's HS 250h pre-orders are more like 3000:
Toyota gets 6 months worth of orders for new Lexus hybrid
TOKYO (Reuters) ---Toyota launched its first dedicated hybrid model under the premium Lexus brand on Tuesday, saying it had received orders worth six months of targeted sales in Japan.
The launch of the HS250h sedan marks the latest push by Toyota to drive fuel-sipping hybrids into the mainstream as governments around the world tighten emissions and fuel economy regulations while offering consumers incentives to purchase less-polluting cars.
Toyota expects to sell an average 500 units a month in Japan of the HS250h, which does not have the unique design characteristics of the Prius hybrid, but like the Prius is only available as a gasoline-electric model.
"Thanks to the green-car tax and a hybrid boom fanned by the Prius in Japan, we've already gotten 3,000 orders," Senior Managing Director Toshio Furutani said at the launch.
The HS250h will be sold in the United States and Canada starting in September, Toyota said. The sedan will not be offered in Europe.
Until the end of 2009, Toyota plans to produce about 3,000 units a month.
Furutani said hybrids had become a major driver for the Lexus brand, which has struggled to sell in Japan since its domestic launch in 2005.
In the first six months of 2009, Lexus sales plunged 38 percent from the year-earlier period to 9,293 units. About 30 percent of those were a hybrid, a Toyota spokesman said.
The HS250h, powered by a 2.5-liter engine, starts at 3.95 million yen ($42,460) in Japan, making it the cheapest model in the Lexus line-up and eligible for a maximum 267,000 yen ($2,870) in "eco-car" tax breaks.
Toyota has a goal of selling at least 1 million hybrid vehicles a year within the next few years and has said it would offer the hybrid option on all of its models by around 2020
http://www.autonews.com/article/2009...307149981/1186
Toyota gets 6 months worth of orders for new Lexus hybrid
TOKYO (Reuters) ---Toyota launched its first dedicated hybrid model under the premium Lexus brand on Tuesday, saying it had received orders worth six months of targeted sales in Japan.
The launch of the HS250h sedan marks the latest push by Toyota to drive fuel-sipping hybrids into the mainstream as governments around the world tighten emissions and fuel economy regulations while offering consumers incentives to purchase less-polluting cars.
Toyota expects to sell an average 500 units a month in Japan of the HS250h, which does not have the unique design characteristics of the Prius hybrid, but like the Prius is only available as a gasoline-electric model.
"Thanks to the green-car tax and a hybrid boom fanned by the Prius in Japan, we've already gotten 3,000 orders," Senior Managing Director Toshio Furutani said at the launch.
The HS250h will be sold in the United States and Canada starting in September, Toyota said. The sedan will not be offered in Europe.
Until the end of 2009, Toyota plans to produce about 3,000 units a month.
Furutani said hybrids had become a major driver for the Lexus brand, which has struggled to sell in Japan since its domestic launch in 2005.
In the first six months of 2009, Lexus sales plunged 38 percent from the year-earlier period to 9,293 units. About 30 percent of those were a hybrid, a Toyota spokesman said.
The HS250h, powered by a 2.5-liter engine, starts at 3.95 million yen ($42,460) in Japan, making it the cheapest model in the Lexus line-up and eligible for a maximum 267,000 yen ($2,870) in "eco-car" tax breaks.
Toyota has a goal of selling at least 1 million hybrid vehicles a year within the next few years and has said it would offer the hybrid option on all of its models by around 2020
http://www.autonews.com/article/2009...307149981/1186
08-09-09, 04:27 PM
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Report: Toyota to Nearly Triple Production of Lexus HS 250h Hybrid by October
8 August 2009
The Nikkei reports that Toyota Motor Kyushu Inc. will nearly triple the production of the Lexus HS 250h hybrid (earlier post) by October. Sales of the HS 250h began in Japan in July.
The HS250h is Lexus’s first hybrid-only offering. Toyota produced 2,000 units in July. Remaining orders for the Lexus hybrid have reached 8,600 units—17 times the monthly domestic sales target of 500.
The HS 250h utilizes Lexus’ first four-cylinder gas engine and the latest hybrid system. The twin-cam Atkinson-cycle engine with Variable Valve Timing with Intelligence (VVT-i) alone has an output of 147 hp (110 kW). In combination with the hybrid drive motor, the HS 250h generates 187 total system horsepower (140 kW). HS 250h has nearly zero evaporative emissions. Sales in the US begin in late August.
8 August 2009
The Nikkei reports that Toyota Motor Kyushu Inc. will nearly triple the production of the Lexus HS 250h hybrid (earlier post) by October. Sales of the HS 250h began in Japan in July.
The HS250h is Lexus’s first hybrid-only offering. Toyota produced 2,000 units in July. Remaining orders for the Lexus hybrid have reached 8,600 units—17 times the monthly domestic sales target of 500.
The HS 250h utilizes Lexus’ first four-cylinder gas engine and the latest hybrid system. The twin-cam Atkinson-cycle engine with Variable Valve Timing with Intelligence (VVT-i) alone has an output of 147 hp (110 kW). In combination with the hybrid drive motor, the HS 250h generates 187 total system horsepower (140 kW). HS 250h has nearly zero evaporative emissions. Sales in the US begin in late August.
08-09-09, 07:57 PM
#28
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I totally agree. The HS 250h is in a class of it's own. The only car manufacturer that could come up with a hybrid to compete would be Ford. Take the Ford Fusion hybrid and bring it over to Lincoln and voi 'la a luxury hybrid.
08-10-09, 04:26 AM
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Not necessarily for us.
If demand outpaces supply by that much and battery supplier Panasonic can't keep up, it's possible that more HS 250hs will be kept in the Japanese Domestic Market where each sale generates more profit than each North American sale, given the current dollar-to-yen exchange.
Also, with Lexus finally having a JDM runaway hit after not being particularly successful there for years, they're probably not about to squander the opportunity for the marque to finally gain some traction in its home country.
If demand outpaces supply by that much and battery supplier Panasonic can't keep up, it's possible that more HS 250hs will be kept in the Japanese Domestic Market where each sale generates more profit than each North American sale, given the current dollar-to-yen exchange.
Also, with Lexus finally having a JDM runaway hit after not being particularly successful there for years, they're probably not about to squander the opportunity for the marque to finally gain some traction in its home country.
08-24-09, 09:27 AM
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Not necessarily for us.
If demand outpaces supply by that much and battery supplier Panasonic can't keep up, it's possible that more HS 250hs will be kept in the Japanese Domestic Market where each sale generates more profit than each North American sale, given the current dollar-to-yen exchange.
Also, with Lexus finally having a JDM runaway hit after not being particularly successful there for years, they're probably not about to squander the opportunity for the marque to finally gain some traction in its home country.
If demand outpaces supply by that much and battery supplier Panasonic can't keep up, it's possible that more HS 250hs will be kept in the Japanese Domestic Market where each sale generates more profit than each North American sale, given the current dollar-to-yen exchange.
Also, with Lexus finally having a JDM runaway hit after not being particularly successful there for years, they're probably not about to squander the opportunity for the marque to finally gain some traction in its home country.
Lexus hybrid's boom eats up supply
U.S. launch may feel squeeze from soaring Japan sales
by Hans Greimel - Automotive News
TOKYO -- Booming orders in Japan for the new Lexus HS 250h sedan may pinch supply of the brand's first dedicated hybrid when it goes on sale in the United States next month.
In its first month in Japan, the car racked up 10,000 orders or about 20 times Toyota Motor Corp.'s initial sales target of 500 vehicles a month.
Customers wanting an HS 250h now face a six-month wait in Japan, meaning a car ordered today will be delivered in February, said Toyota spokeswoman Monika Saito.
The surge in demand could affect supply of the Japan-made car to U.S. dealerships.
"We hope there won't be a problem, but we'll see," Saito said.
The HS 250h went on sale in Japan on July 14. Sales are getting a lift from new tax breaks that the Japanese government has offered to spur the sale of green vehicles.
In the United States, Lexus has priced the base model at $35,075 including shipping. The pricing of the entry-level luxury car is aimed at winning younger customers whom Lexus has been losing to BMW and Mercedes.
The HS 250h is Lexus' first dedicated hybrid and also the brand's first to be powered by a four-cylinder engine. The car gets 35 mpg city/34 highway, the highest mileage of any Lexus.
http://www.autonews.com/article/2009...308249970/1292