Lexus is starting to lose the battle against other luxury brands like BMW and Audi and is expected to not be the top selling luxury brand in the U.S. this year. For the most part its lineup is aged and Lexus is missing certain vehicles from its lineup that luxury buyers are interested in.
Lexus is hoping to fix this with an onslaught of new models. Lexus’ Australian chief Tony Cramb recently told The Age about Lexus’ future plans, which will include a new compact SUV and a more powerful CT. Cramb stated, ”New arrivals are going to play a big part [of our push towards record Lexus sales]. ‘We’ve still got some pretty major gaps [and] we’ve got to overcome them,
Lexus’ newest hybrid, the CT 200h recently went on sale and it looks like Lexus is planning a more powerful version, possibly named the CT 300h. The more powerful CT is expected to get a bigger gas engine as well as a larger electric motor.
Lexus currently doesn’t offer a seven-passenger crossover, since the only crossover in Lexus’ lineup, the RX 350 only offers room for five. If you want a Lexus with more than five seats, buyers have to choose from the body-on-frame GX and LX SUVs. Lexus is going to fix this with a larger crossover model that will give Lexus more competition against models like the BMW X5 and Audi Q7.
While Lexus is working on a larger crossover, Lexus is also working on a crossover that will be smaller than the RX. ”Obviously, we need a smaller SUV … that’s something that’s high on the agenda for us.”
Lexus is also expected to release a new GS sedan this fall, which was previewed by the LF-Gh concept (above).
Full Story: The Age
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