Toyota Motor Corp. introduced the Lexus RX luxury sport utility vehicle to help attract customers in a shrinking domestic market.
The company aims to sell 650 a month, it said in a statement Monday. The RX, powered with a V-6 3.5-liter engine, costs between ¥4.6 million and ¥5.65 million. The gasoline-electric version of the model is priced between ¥5.7 million and ¥6.5 million, it said.
Sales of the Lexus brand have slumped after the financial crisis last year cut spending among customers, prompting Toyota to pare production and temporary jobs. The automaker expects its first annual operating loss in 71 years.
Sales of the Lexus brand fell 26 percent last year in Japan to about 25,900 vehicles, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association. The tally accounted for less than 2 percent of Toyota's domestic sales.
In the U.S., where the company reported a drop in annual sales for the first time since 1995, Toyota sold 260,087 Lexus vehicles, a 21 percent decline. About 12 percent of Toyota's sales last year were Lexus-brand vehicles.