Sales of Lexus hybrids from January to March grow 25%

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai April 12) - Lexus' hybrid sales in China over the first three months of the year grew 25 percent, surpassing the manufacturer's targets by ten percent, International Finance News reported today. The news comes following the Chinese market debut of the Lexus GS 250 and GS 350 last week. Hybrid technology is a core part of parent company Toyota's market strategy in the country, so it was only a matter of time before Lexus began making large strides in the segment.

According to Toyota Motor (China) Investment Vice President Lang Lixin, average monthly sales of the CT 200h (pictured), which made its market debut last November, have constantly been exceeding 1,200 units. 1,456 units were sold in March alone. Mr. Lang was very proud in Lexus' accomplishments in the electric vehicle sector, echoing that they surpassed previously set targets.

Lexus owes a lot of its strong performance in the EV market to parent company Toyota. According to Toyota's Yundong plan, announced last month in Beijing, the Chinese market will be a key destination for the manufacturer's environmentally friendly products and technologies. 2012 is set to be a watershed year for Lexus' EV sales, Toyota China Senior Vice President Kenji Nakashima stated.

Lexus plans to aims to sell a total of 88,000 in China this year, over 55 percent more than what it sold last year.