Back in 1997, Lexus might have been first on the market among premium brands with an upmarket crossover, but Toyota’s luxury division has been forced to play catch-up with any expansion of its range.
At the other end of the spectrum, Lexus has seen success with its GX and LX three-row SUVs, yet the brand lacks a more fuel-efficient car-based three-row crossover, something offered by several of its chief rivals. Audi and BMW have long offered three-row versions of their Q7 and X5, respectively, while Infiniti is set to jump into the game this year with its new JX35.
That leaves Lexus slightly behind the times with only its five-seat RX and the high-buck truck-based GX and LX.
To rectify the situation, Toyota’s U.S. president, Jim Lentz, says that the brand’s body-on-frame platforms will be entirely phased out in about a dozen years.
“By 2025, I think one can assume that most of the frame-based vehicles will be gone,” he told Automotive News.
A refreshed LX 570, which shares its platform, powertrains and much of its sheetmetal with the global Toyota Land Cruiser, quietly bowed last week at the Detroit auto show. The company’s GX was new for 2010, which means it isn’t slated for an update for at least the next couple of years.
Both the LX and the GX are dressed-up versions of Toyota Land Cruiser-badged serious off road vehicles used by commercial and government fleets across the globe, however. A move to an urbane, pavement-oriented unibody platform would likely diminish those vehicles’ appeal to buyers outside of North America, so a separation of the LX and GX ranges from their kissing cousin Land Cruiser ranges seems most likely.
References
1.’Lexus looks to…’ view
