May 26
Written by: Aaron Turpen 325 views
Published on May 26th, 2009 in Electric Cars
The Prius may gain a new cousin at Toyota’s premium car company, Lexus. Lexus is preparing a new hatchback model to debut at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show. This model will be available only as a Prius-based hybrid and likely based on the HS 250h.
It’s to be a Europe-centric model, so some differences in height to make it a “subcompact” in the EU and it will likely be utilizing a 4-cylinder diesel. The Lexus chief in Europe, Andy Pfeiffenberger, says it will directly compete with the V8 diesels now popular as higher-end models.
Probably the largest competitor, and the one that Lexus is aiming directly for, is the Audi A3 and the upcoming C-class Mercedes models. These cars are in the fastest-growing segment of automobiles in the premium market of Europe.
This new Lexus model is likely to go on sale in Europe in late 2010 as a 2011 model.
Source: Motor Trend
Tags: Audi, Frankfurt Motor Show, hybrid vehicle, Lexus, Lexus hybrid, Mercedes, prius, toyota
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