Toyota presented its new hybrid Lexus HS 250h during a news conference held at the Riverview Ballroom in the Cobo Center in Detroit.
"While Toyota is investing heavily in advancement such as fuel cells, plug-ins and battery electric vehicles, we believe that the gas-electric hybrid will be our core technology for many years to come," explained Mr. Irv Miller, Toyota's group vice president of environmental and public affairs in the United States. He added that sometime during the 2010s, the company plans to ship out 1 million gas-electric hybrids every year and also that by 2012 the company will introduce eight new gas-electric hybrids.
"In 20 years, Lexus has gone from question mark to benchmark, including the vehicle we're debuting here today, the first-ever dedicated luxury hybrid," said Lexus Group Vice President and General Manager Mark Templin, talking about the vehicle’s history since its first release on the market.
The hybrid is expected to become available later this summer, and even though the company’s officials did not disclose the cost, the estimated retail price might be in the $30,000 range. It is powered by a four-cylinder 2.4 liter Atkinson-cycle engine, putting out 187 horsepower.
The HS 250h was designed to include the company’s most advanced vehicle technology features such as lane departure alert, multifunctional navigation and Ten-way power seats. The safety issue was also highly considered, as the vehicle has 10 airbags.
Other features include Bluetooth, radar cruise control, wide-view front monitor, satellite radio, an iPod port, the new Remote Touch interface and a moonroof.
Since the release of its RX hybrid in 2005, Lexus managed to sell more than 157,000 hybrid vehicles. The HS is the fourth model released by Lexus that has a hybrid engine, but it is the company’s first project conceived purely as a hybrid.
Lexus has always listened to its customers and tried to exceed their expectations by releasing quality products, its name becoming equal to innovation, style and quality. The vehicle was first introduced in the early 1980s, when Chairman Eiji Toyoda invited a group of talented engineers to develop the best luxury vehicle in the world. After looking at hundreds of prototypes, the company’s officials decided on releasing the LS 400, which quickly became a huge hit, setting Lexus apart from its competition. What made the brand stand out even more was the strategy to take customer service to an unprecedented level. When two of the buyers complained about the third high-mounted stoplight which was not as bright as it should have been and about a cruise-control malfunction, Lexus recalled all 8,000 vehicles sold, picked each one up from their owners in order to fix the problems, and then returned the cars washed and with a full tank of gas. In addition to this treatment, all owners received a gift as a thank you for being so understanding.
A few years later, in 1991, the company took another step for securing its market position, by releasing the new ES 300 and also the SC 400 and the SC 300 sport coupes. From that point on, it kept growing, looking to address all the needs of its clients.
