Last year saw the end of Lexus’ 11-year reign as the best-selling luxury automaker in America, an outcome partially attributable to the March disaster in Japan as well as an aging sedan lineup. Far from being ready to throw in the towel, Lexus has plans to introduce a host of new models and has set a target of 21 percent sales growth for 2012.
“We will grow more than any other luxury brand this year,” said Lexus general manager Mike Templin. “Our base plan is 240,000. But we think we can exceed that by a pretty good margin.”
Spearheading the expansion will be the Lexus’ new GS sedan, after which the automaker will release reworked ES, IS and LS model ranges. The refreshed LX SUV will also show up in dealerships this spring, while the automaker is also considering the addition of a seven-passenger crossover as well as multiple coupe models.
Besides a possible production version of the LF-LC hybrid concept shown in Detroit, which could sticker between $100,000 and $130,000, Lexus executives said there is room for a coupe priced similarly to the discontinued SC 430, which cost roughly $70,000.
More variants of the CT 200h hybrid could also be in the pipeline, but expect to see at least one Lexus model headed to the junkyard in the near future: the HS 250h, which suffered a sales decline of 73 percent to 2,864 units last year.
“It’s a car that doesn’t necessarily fit the long-term needs of the brand in the U.S.,” said Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A.
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1.’Lexus looks to…’ view
