Toyota's (NYSE: TM - News) Japanese IR website reports approximately 12,000 LS460s were ordered/sold in the one month period since its launch, beating its monthly estimate of 1,300 by more than 9x. As expected, its core customers were in the age group of 50-60 years, but Toyota reports broad acceptance by consumers in their 40s and younger.
Positive feedback from consumers includes praise for:
* Refined combination of luxury feeling and sportiness
* Newly developed V8 engine, smooth 8-speed automatic transmission, powerful acceleration, and quiet ride
* Safety features such as pre-crash safety system and the VDIM stability and traction control system
This news, in addition to mounting anticipation over its quarterly earnings release on November 7th, pushed its ordinary shares (Tokyo: 7203) higher by 1.5% to close at 6,880 yen ($115.90 ADR equivalent).
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