Lexus News: Lexus Executive Admits There Are Some Holes In Their Lineup

[William Maley]

Lexus executives admit there are some holes in their lineup such as not having a subcompact or three-row crossover. Speaking with Automotive News, Lexus General Manager Jeff Bracken said the brand is losing as many as 70,000 potential vehicle sales by not competing in certain segments. 

"We do think there's room to fill some gaps that still exist for Lexus," said Bracken.

One possibility is introducing a subcompact crossover possibly with a production version of the UX concept.

"That's a gap we are watching very closely. We're very fixated on trying to move that conversation forward with our parent corporation." 

Also up for consideration is a three-row crossover and expanding the F-series performance family - might include an LC-F.

One surprise to come out is Lexus doing an electric vehicle. According to Bracken, the brand started investigating possibilities after the Paris Motor Show where many European luxury automakers pushed this idea.

"It was amazingly focused. Subsequent to that show, from my standpoint, we began conversations with our product planners," said Bracken.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

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[David]

Ugh, I can only imagen how ugly those subcompact Predator mouth auto's would be. Yea all auto companies can say they have holes, but do they really need to spend the money to develop a couple auto's that would cover 70K a year in additional production capacity? Maybe, Maybe not.

[smk4565]

There are gaps because there is only so much lipstick you can put on a Rav4 or Camry to make Lexuses out of them.  They don't really have much of a performance line at all, the LX570 and GX are older than dirt and don't sell.   They need a 3 row crossover to replace the 2002 4Runner based GX, and a crossover below the NX is a given.  Toyota is getting a sub Rav4 crossover, there will be a Lexus version.