i think it's pretty likely given the weak dollar / strong yen. besides starting price is meaningless as 'base' models are never available on a lot.

 

$60K+ starting price for the 450h is not a big deal, IMO. Most 535is, E350s and A6s go for $60K+ with decent options. 340hp, 31MPG, plus all of the extras for the same price? Sign me up.

 

Toyota Records 400,000th Hybrid Sale in Europe

Toyota has recorded its 400,000th hybrid sales in the European market. Although 3-generations of Prius accounted for most of Toyota’s European hybrid sales, the 400,000th hybrid sold on the continent was an Auris Hybrid.

The keys to hybrid car number 400,000 were handed over to Valentine Nkwocha in Anderlecht, Belgium. The milestone-achieving Auris Hybrid is one of 20 purchased by IT consultancy firm CTG to be used as company cars.

“We are very proud to deliver our 400,000th hybrid in Europe to a customer in Belgium where we have a strong presence with our European headquarters, our R&D center, our parts and vehicle logistics operations,” said Michel Gardel, VP of Communication for Toyota Europe. “It shows that Belgian and European customers are not only ready to consider a hybrid vehicle purchase but for Toyota, they have been doing so in large numbers – in fact 10% of our sales in Europe were hybrid vehicles last year.”

Toyota began hybrid sales in Europe in 2000 with the 1st-generation of the Prius. 2 more generations of the Prius have followed, and Toyota added the Auris Hybrid to its lineup in 2010.

Although the milestone is nothing to scoff at, it does show that Europeans aren’t quite as accepting of hybrids as Americans. The Toyota brand sold 150,000 hybrids in the United States last year, meaning it would take just over 2 and a half years to achieve the 400,000 unit mark, rather than the 12 years it has taken Europe.

 

Hybrids are actually not doing that bad in Europe at all... they sold 80k last year, but with marketshare much much lower than in USA. And Toyota's best marketshare is in eastern european countries where hybrids are not purchased due to the price.

You could say that their hybrids have same or even greater influence on overall Toyota sales in Europe than in USA.

 

Lexus Vows "Change" & a 50% Sales Spike

After a year of sluggish growth partly due to a massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan last March, Toyota's luxury unit Lexus aims to boost sales in China by more than 50 percent to 88,000 units this year.

The company said in a statement that by the end of the year, it will have 100 authorized dealer outlets in operation, up from the 81 dealerships to date.

Lexus sold 56,303 vehicles in China last year - a modest increase of 6% over its 2010 tally of about 53,000 - at the same time China's luxury market soared by nearly 40% to 950,000 units.

A major reason for the shortfall was the Japan earthquake that caused production halts at most of the nation's carmakers and components suppliers. Production by Lexus only started to recover in July.

By the end of last year, the brand had sold more than 210,000 cars since it arrived in China in 2005. Its import lineup now includes 15 models, four of them gasoline-electric hybrids.

Lexus said that this year it will further increase proportion of its cars with small-displacement engines and hybrid powertrains sold in China.

"Change" is the keyword for its development in the Chinese market, the company said in a statement.

Sales by Lexus in China doubled every year from 2005 to 2007, yet the pace slowed in 2008 and 2009 due to increased taxes on cars with large engines. At that time, almost all imported Lexus models had engines larger than 3 liters.

Lexus then began to introduce more cars with small engines as well as hybrid models. It regained some momentum in 2010 with delivery of about 53,000 cars, more than 65% of them powered by small engines.

Yet the Japanese brand's sales in China still trail far behind its German competitors.

Audi sold more than 300,000 cars in the country last year and BMW moved about 232,000. Sales by Mercedes-Benz surpassed 198,000. All three have local joint ventures to produce cars at more competitive prices than imported models.

Analysts said that without local production, Lexus is not likely to see significant growth in sales and market share in China.

But the company has no apparent plan for a local production facility. Lexus cars are currently built only in Japan and the US.

Even its Japanese counterpart Infiniti, the luxury brand by Nissan, is considering local production after only 4 years in China.

After imports began in 2007, Infiniti's sales are now about 40% of those by Lexus.