Toyota delays U.S. launch of Lexus RX 400h hybrid SUV

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Buyers must wait for April delivery of fuel-efficient vehicle

November 12, 2004

BY SARAH A. WEBSTER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Well-to-do do-gooders can file their taxes and buy a hybrid luxury sport-utility vehicle next year.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus division announced this week that its highly anticipated gasoline-electric SUV, initially expected to hit showrooms this fall, will go on sale April 15, the federal deadline for filing taxes, as a 2006 model-year vehicle. Toyota plans to release a hybrid version of the Toyota Highlander SUV about 90 days later.

Lexus decided to delay release of the RX 400h until April to accommodate increasing demand for the vehicle, which will be built at the company's Kyushu, Japan, plant, said Lexus spokesman Bill Ussery.

"We are attempting to increase the number of vehicles available at launch," he said. "We're in communications with TMC (Toyota Motor Corp.) to negotiate a larger share of the global allocation, at least initially, to help satisfy demand."

It was unclear why those talks might cause a delay in production. But the automaker said it has 9,500 confirmed orders for the RX 400h, 8,000 consumers on dealership waiting lists and about 46,000 potential buyers who have registered online saying they want more information about the vehicle.

That's 63,500 interested consumers -- even though there is no price tag on the vehicle yet. Most hybrid purchasers pay a premium for their vehicle, and the RX 330 starts between $36,425 and $37,825, according to the Web site Edmunds.com.

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