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'Why I ditched Merc for Lexus'

Toyota, which could soon become the world's largest carmaker, has won a new convert: Lee Kuan Yew.

The founder of modern Singapore confided on Thursday that he recently switched from a Mercedes to a Toyota Lexus and said he needed to go less often to a mechanic.

"I used to use Mercedes. I'm now using Lexus. Why? Because less time loss going to the workshop," the 82-year-old elder statesman told a forum in Tokyo.

"But why is that? Because Mercedes expanded too fast across the world and now Mercedes is not by German workers only, but also made in Brazil and made in other places," Lee said.

"So, they have not got the same quality control as Japan has," he told the audience, mostly Japanese businessmen.

"Your manufacturers in America and Europe somehow maintain that quality control. And you are able to maintain your reputation. So, that's the result of your first class management."

Lexus name, Toyota's flagship luxury brand, was launched in 1989 for the North American market and was later expanded to Europe and other parts of Asia. After confirming its popularity overseas, Toyota launched the sedan in Japan last year.

Toyota is expected soon to wrest the crown of General Motors as the world's top carmaker. It has a global strategy of expanding both in its traditional bases of Japan, North America and Europe and moving beyond to emerging markets.

The world's most profitable carmaker has been spending billions of dollars to boost global production to keep up with record sales as sky-high oil prices drive unprecedented interest in its gas-electric hybrid models.

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