Toyota Motor Corp said on July 26, it aimed to boost sales of its Lexus luxury cars to 500,000 units globally in 2006 - up 40 percent from last year - as it rolls out the brand for the first time in Japan next month.
The world's second-biggest auto maker is counting on the domestic introduction of the Lexus line to revive demand in the premium segment long dominated by European marques.
At a launch event at Tokyo's Olympic stadium, Japan's top car maker took the wraps off the first three series to be sold in its home market this year - the GS, IS and SC - also the first generation of Lexus cars developed under a new design philosophy aimed at differentiating the brand from Toyota's.
The GS, IS and SC have been sold as the Aristo, Altezza, and Soarer models, respectively, under the Toyota brand in Japan. The Toyota brand versions will be phased as the Lexus models come to market.
The GS sedan and SC sports coupe will go on sale at Lexus's 143 showrooms on August 30, followed by the IS sports sedan in late September. Toyota is targeting combined monthly sales of 3,000 units for the three models.
This year, it expects to sell 20,000 Lexus cars in Japan, raising that to 50,000 to 60,000 in 2006, President Katsuaki Watanabe told a news conference.
Globally, Lexus would aim for sales of about 500,000 units next year, when it would add a hybrid version of the GS in the spring and the new LS flagship sedan - which sells as the Celsior in Japan - later that year.
In 2004, sales totalled about 359,000 units, mostly in North America.
Lexus has been the US market's best-selling luxury brand for the past five years, but is still a fringe player in Europe - home of the world's biggest premium car makers such as DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
Toyota has also been losing share in the luxury segment at home, with sales of the Aristo, Soarer and Altezza models falling 28 percent last year to 7,900 units.
While the Lexus series will have its own dealer network and superior features, Toyota faces a unique challenge in Japan of convincing customers to fork out a sizeable premium for the cars over the existing models sold under the Toyota brand.
Announcing the Lexus models' pricing in Japan for the first time, Toyota said the GS sedan would start at 5.2 million yen ($46,580) for the entry-level 3.5-litre version. That represents a 28 percent premium to the 3.0-litre Aristo model.
The 2.5-litre IS will start at 3.9 million yen, compared with a 2.0-litre Altezza at 2.5 million yen. The SC coupe will cost 6.8 million yen, against 6.3 million yen for the Soarer model.
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