Lexus aims to maintain or “gently build” its UK sales, despite the difficulties posed by the recent, pre-Brexit devaluation of the pound, by launching first a new Lexus ES saloon and then the compact Lexus UX crossover.
The new front-drive ES, the seventh generation of one of Lexus’s earliest models, has never previously been sold in Western Europe, but is likely to Lexus take the place of the long-in-tooth GS.
The UX, described by Lexus’s European boss Pascal Ruch as the most important car in Lexus’s European history, is an all-new rival for the BMW i3.
Despite claims that they will “never push volume”, in Europe, Lexus volume has expanded by 70% in the past four years, and is on course to top 100,000 units by 2020. UK volume currently runs at about 15,000 units.
Ruch believes the future for Lexus’s current range of “self charging hybrids” is bright for the next five to 10 years, especially since around 97% of its cars have this kind of Powertrain. “We think this is the best way of delivering very low CO2 and high efficiency, rather than having a lot of conventional cars and a few electric cars, like others.”
The arrival of the ES and UX will begin a cycle during which 70% of the UK line-up will be renewed by the end of 2019.
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Replacing the GS with the ES...
I'm not sure why Lexus chose to replace the rear-drive GS with the front-drive ES, as they claim the ES offers greater driving pleasure....From my understanding the ES is just a spruced up Camry and probably costs less to build too.
Marv wrote:
...in the similar way that an A4 is a "spruced up" Passat?. Why shouldn't car buyers have as big a choice as can be made available to them, to spend their hard earned money/car allowance?.
If you're "not sure why...", look it up and ease your troubled mind.
Not an i3 rival
Bob Cat Brian wrote:
BMW will soon drop the i3 range extender: https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/bmw-cease-production-i3-range-extender
Is the 3% worth it
97% are Hybirds, must be time to dump pure ICE Lexus's then they'd have the bragging rights.
xxxx wrote:
Yes, they are V8s!