2010 Lexus HS 250h

2010 Lexus HS 250h

The people of Japan love their hybrids and the Lexus HS 250h is no exception. The Nikkei reports that Toyota has already taken 1,500 pre-orders in Japan for its upcoming luxury hybrid. This exceeds the automaker's expectations three times over.

Not to be outdone, the overwhelmingly popular third generation Prius, which was released in May, has a waiting list eight months long, which should be enough to make any greenie positively jittery.

While hybrids gain tremendous ground in Japan, they still only represent a modest share of the market in the U.S. Whereas hybrid versions of the Lexus RX midsize SUV account for 90% of Japanese orders, in the month of June nearly 93% of RXs sold stateside were traditional gas vehicles.

That's not to say that hybrid sales aren't growing. The Ford Fusion Hybrid and the aforementioned Prius have made their mark here and sales are expected to continue to rise.

The HS250h rolls into showrooms in late summer. If these reports from Japan are any indication, expect it to roll out of showrooms quickly.

Source: Nikkei via Green Car Congress