Lexus to Move to Hybrid-Only?
When I read Toyota Managing Officer Toshio Furutani's comments in the Nikkei Business News last week that "in the medium to long term, Toyota was considering making the Lexus lineup hybrid-only", it barely registered. Now, after seeing it reported over and over, I've come to release it might be an idea to post here -- this is a Lexus news site, after all.
Honestly, I had always just assumed that eventually Lexus would stop selling conventional gas engines and replace them all with hybrid versions. In fact, with the hybrid version of the RX making up 86% of all European sales and the very technology being so important to the brand's success there, I wouldn't be surprised to see the next-gen RX to be only offered as a hybrid there.
With the exception of the IS-F, picturing a hybrid-only lineup isn't very difficult at all -- and then when you consider the rumor that the LF-A would also be offered as a hybrid, even the IS-F doesn't seem implausible at all.
(And this doesn't even take into account the potential brand benefit of being the first mass market car manufacturer to drop conventional engines!)
[Source: Reuters]
You can forget about the LF-A, in any form, Toyota does not have the cojones to bring out anything as spirited and as expensive as that car. They are in the business of making money and anything that has any risk at all is highly doubtful from the Japanese GM.
If they would really embrace a full-hybrid strategy I'd like to see hybrid versions of their uber-SUVs like the LX and GX.
Regarding the LF-A, I wouldn't count it out entirely. Dealerships are taking deposits for clients to be first on the list for when the LF-A's come out.
@lift: I'm almost positive the LF-A will see production, though I think it's going to be very, very expensive.
@Dan: I can't believe the LX wasn't released as a hybrid, but I think it would have probably been a similar situation to the LSh, where the hybrid engine didn't return significantly higher gas mileage.
I can not wait to see an LX and GX hybrid. Guess we are all stuck waiting until like 2012 or 2020 lol
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