Lexus Aust: "no plans" for hybrid-only range
The local arm of Lexus will not follow the example in Britain, where GS, LS and RX ranges are solely hybrid variantsLexus has canned the petrol-engined GS and LS models in the UK market, cutting the range down to hybrid models only. But in Australia, it's business as usual.
In a recent announcement, Lexus UK flagged that it was cutting its GS, LS and RX ranges to one model each for that market -- the GS450h, L600h and the new RX450h hybrids.
Scott Brownlee, General Manager for press and public affairs at Toyota UK, told media the decision is "a logical move" for the company.
"Sales of non-hybrid LS, GS and RX in recent years have been so small -- a single digit percentage of the overall sales -- it makes little sense to incur the cost of re-engineering them to meet lower emission limits when we have the hybrids that already do that and more," he said.
He used the announcement to rebuff long-held press qualms about the incursion of the company's hybrid battery packs into bootspace. "The historic sales split in favour of hybrid over the petrol derivatives suggests it's not a major factor in the purchase decision.
"Lexus is the only premium brand in the UK to offer hybrid -- indeed half of all hybrid cars currently on sale in the UK are Lexus models, making hybrid a strong USP (brand definer) for us."
The IS range will retain the petrol and diesel options.
Asked if the UK move points to wider push by Lexus towards becoming a hybrid-only identity, Lexus's Australian chief, John Roca, says no. Nor does the Australian arm have any plans at this time to follow in the UK operation's footsteps.
"The Australian market's substantially different to the UK," he says. "We have longer driving distances, lower petrol prices and spec differences reflecting that."
It's reflected, too, in differences in the petrol/hybrid sales split here and overseas. Standalone petrol power takes up a greater proportion of LS, GS and RX sales here than there -- mainly a reflection in the differences in running costs. Unlike here, the British government taxes owners on emissions, which turns into substantial price premiums on the LS460 and GS460 over their hybrid siblings, the LS600h and GS450h.
The Carsales Network understands that hybrids account for around 30 per cent of the Lexus range sold locally -- so hardly enough to justify a major change of marketing direction for the company.
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