2011 hasn't been the best year for Lexus->ke47 on the North American market. The world crisis combined with the massive earthquake that shook Japan to its core in March 2011 hurt the company's sales and made it surrender its 11-year reign as the best-selling luxury brand in the United States. However, Lexus has plans to make a major comeback, announcing plans to offer nine new or updated products to hopefully increase their sales by about 21%. This translates to 240,000 units compared to 2011's 198,552 units.

"We will grow more than any other luxury brand this year. Our base plan is 240,000. But we think we can exceed that by a pretty good margin," said Mark Templin, Lexus General Manager.

The list of new models includes the GS 350 and GS 450h sport sedans arriving in February, followed by reworked versions of the ES 350, the IS 250 and 350, the LS 460->ke436, and the 600h. The LX SUV->ke497 will also be refreshed in 2012.

But the biggest news for 2012 is the LF-LC Hybrid Concept shown at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show. This concept will be immediately followed by a production version priced somewhere between $100,000 and $130,000.

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