English 
Toyota, the Japanese auto giant, has recently imported a single model of the LX 450d SUV from its luxury brand Lexus in India. Imported from Japan, the SUV has come to India for certification purpose. This is the second Lexus car to be imported to India in recent weeks after the ES 300h hybrid sedan that came in early June for the same reason. Earlier this year in February we told you that Toyota is working on launching the Lexus brand in India, and these imports further confirm our claim.
Now, the Lexus brand coming to India has been a major topic of discussion at Toyota HQ in Nagoya since 2009, but the idea was rejected twice since then - first in 2010 and later in 2013. So before taking the decision for the third time, Toyota had to weigh in all the options as to what Lexus would mean for its business in India. In fact in an exclusive interview with carandbike.com, Toyota's head for the Asia/Middle East/North Africa regions, Kyoichi Tanada, told us that they are planning launch the brand with their hybrid vehicles considering the government requirements and environmental issues in India. He even said, "Basically, we have to consider three things - how we can keep our leadership through our SUV models, and also how we can increase our sales number through the passenger car line up. And how will we be able to introduce more hybrid cars meeting the government's requirements."
Lexus LX 450d
All that said the LX 450d that has currently come to India is not a hybrid vehicle, so does this indicate that Toyota is also consider bringing in regular Lexus SUVs to the country in future? While this is something too soon to comment on, considering the time taken for homologation and other formalities to launch a new car in the country, it isn't a surprise that Toyota is laying the ground work this early. As for the SUV itself, the LX 450d is powered by a 4.5-litre V8 diesel engine, which is capable of generating 268bhp and develop a peak torque of 650 Nm. This power is delivered to all four wheels via a 6-speed automatic transmission.
Source: Zauba
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