Looks like I was wrong, both Car Magazine and Auto Express are reporting that the Lexus HS 250h won’t be offered in Europe.
If true, this is a real head scratcher. Here’s a 2007 quote from Lexus UK Chief Steve Settle talking about the HS in no uncertain terms:
“We’ll add a specific hybrid model and leave the IS as a sports petrol and diesel. There will be more focus on interior space than on sports styling and it will have more boot space,” Settle revealed.
“Hybrid is the brand-defining technology for Lexus,” said Steve Settle, the head of Lexus in the UK, during an interview with Automotive News. Three of Lexus’s current models have hybrid options and those cars account for 70% of Lexus sales in the UK.
Take the fact that hybrids make up 70% of all Lexus UK sales and combine it with the European love of small cars, and the HS’ European availability seems like a sure thing. An outright absence makes little sense, maybe Lexus is planning a staggered launch similar to the IS-F.
(Thanks Pond!)