The Altezza will go on sale in Japan early next month, with shipments to Europe commencing next spring, Toyota president Hiroshi Okuda told a news conference.

The company set a monthly domestic sales target for the Altezza of 4,000 units, while sales in Europe, where it will be marketed as the Lexus IS200, were expected to reach 15,000 units annually in 2000.

Toyota launched the vehicle in Britain last week at the Birmingham International Motor Show, where officials said it would be priced at about 20,000 pounds and its annual sales in Europe would reach 25,000 units within three or four years.

European sales of Lexus luxury vehicles totalled 6,300 units in the first nine months of this year, Okuda said.

He added that the new sedan, equipped with either a two-litre four-cylinder engine or asix-cylinder engine, would compete with the BMW 3 series and the Mercedes-Benz C class cars.

Toyota dismissed suggestions that it was focusing too heavily on sedans when so-called recreational vehicles, including minivans, wagons and sport-utilities, were showing particular strength in the domestic market.

"I think in percentage terms RVs have generally gone as far as they can go," said executive vice president Akihiro Wada.

List prices for the Altezza will start at 2,070,000 yen in Japan.