Toyota launches first Lexus hybrid

By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia autos correspondent

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota (7203.T) 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 the world's biggest carmaker 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 instantly recognisable 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 model will be sold in the United States and Canada from September, Toyota said. 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-litre engine, starts at 3.95 million yen (25,064 pounds) in Japan, making it the cheapest model in the Lexus line-up and eligible for a maximum 267,000 yen in "eco-car" tax breaks.