April 8 (Bloomberg) -- Honda Motor Co.’s Acura division is expanding its U.S. lineup with a new crossover model the company hopes will help reverse sagging sales for the luxury brand.

The all-wheel-drive ZDX, derived from Tokyo-based Honda’s Acura MDX sport-utility vehicle, is a 4-door car and goes on sale late this year, said Mike Spencer, a spokesman for Honda. The vehicle was shown today at the New York International Auto Show.

Carmakers are introducing new exterior designs and features to spark sales amid the weakest U.S. auto market since the early 1980s. Acura car and SUV sales plummeted 35 percent in the first quarter, mirroring an industrywide 38 percent drop for luxury models, according to Autodata Corp.

The V-6 engine ZDX, the first Acura designed by a woman, will be built at Honda’s Alliston, Ontario, plant where MDX is produced, Spencer said. The new Acura competes with Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s BMW X6 crossover, introduced last year.

The model will be priced “in between MDX and the RL” sedan, he said. The 2009 MDX is priced from $40,990 while the top-end RL sedan sells for as much as $54,100, according to the company’s Web site.

Honda’s U.S. Acura unit is based in Torrance, California. The New York show is open to the public April 10-19.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alan Ohnsman in Los Angeles aohnsman@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 8, 2009 11:00 EDT