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To counter Japanese yen gains on the U.S. dollar, Toyota Motor Corp's U.S. sales arm intends to increase raise retail prices for models available in the U.S. market. Toyota said that the cars that get to the U.S. from Japan in May, or are built in North America in the same month, will have their rates increased. Toyota said that there will be a 1.7% increase in the average prices for all three brands (Toyota, Scion, Lexus) Toyota offers in the U.S., ranging from 1.2% to 2.2%.

Bill Kwong, a spokesman for Toyota's Lexus brand, clarified that the increase in prices are not related to the disruptions from the disaster in Japan, according to Autonews. He said that for a time, Toyota has attempted to absorb the yen/dollar fluctuations but that it is unable to do so since the margin between the two currencies has remained too large and for too long a time.

Last Thursday, the dollar last traded at 83.16 yen, compared with 93.46 yen the previous year. Kwong said that Toyota has yet to decide whether its prices have to be adjusted because of the impact of the crisis in Japan. Kwong revealed that at the moment, the company is in the process of assessing its impact on production. After the numerous recalls, Toyota sales dropped by 0.4% in 2010. With these circumstances, Toyota faces the challenge of winning consumers in the U.S.[via - 4wheelsnews]