Toyota Motor Corp. unveiled three remodeled Lexus luxury models Tuesday that will be launched in late August.
The Lexus SC sports coupe will sell for 6.8 million yen and the Lexus GS sedan will be priced between 5.2 million yen and 6.3 million yen. The price for the Lexus IS model will range from 3.9 million yen to 5.25 million yen.
Lexus models were first introduced in the United States in 1989. The brand gained recognition in the U.S. market -- where Toyota has 200 sales outlets -- as a luxury model on par with BMW and Mercedes Benz.
"Launching the Lexus brand in our home country was a long-held dream," Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe told a news conference in Tokyo, adding that the domestic launch is aimed at making the Lexus the world's premium automobile brand.
The top domestic automaker set the combined monthly sales target for the three models at 3,000 vehicles, with 100 for the SC, 1,100 for the GS and 1,800 for the IS.
Watanabe said the firm is hoping to build domestic sales to 50,000 to 60,000 units next year.
The three cars are remodeled versions of high-end models that Toyota sells in Japan.
The Lexus SC was remodeled from the Soarer sports coupe, the GS was taken from the Aristo sedan and the IS came from the Altezza sedan.
Toyota also will launch the LS sedan, a remodeled Celsior, next spring as the flagship model for the Lexus brand.
The automaker said it initially will open 143 Lexus outlets nationwide and plans to increase the number gradually to 180 in the near future.
In addition to the U.S., vehicles carrying the Lexus name are sold in Europe and other countries, including South Korea and China.
