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Lexus IS Hybrid for Europe?

Posted by Kevin on July 22nd, 2009

According to Autocar, the Lexus HS 250h will not be available in Europe because of an upcoming IS hybrid:

Lexus has ruled out bringing the HS 250h to the UK because it will clash with an upcoming IS hybrid model.

…a company source said the model will not come to Europe because both the Avensis and the Lexus IS model will be getting a hybrid powertrain.

The Lexus IS, which is likely to get a hybrid version for the next generation, is only slightly larger than the HS 250h and would be a direct competitor.

“Selling the HS 250h here would be an emphatic no because of Toyota’s plans to put a hybrid in every range by 2020. The car would be premium d-segment and a direct competitor to the Avensis and the IS, which already meet premium needs.”

The concept of an IS hybrid is interesting, especially if it was running some version of the 3.5L V6 found in the GS 450h. With only the IS 250 (204-hp) & diesel IS 220 (175-hp) available in Europe, a 336-hp IS 450h would certainly close the gap between the current models and the IS-F.

[Source: Autocar]

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    TheK
  • October 27, 2010
Lexus still has a lot to learn for the european market. A good first step would be to drop _all_ non-hybrid engines, as they have no chance against Daimler, BMW and Audi looking at fuel consumption. Next step would be to introduce a '350h' for several models and a small 150h with about 100 kW all together. A good engine lineup would be: CT with 150h and 200h. IS with 150h, 200h, 350h and 600h (last as 'IS-F'). GS with 200h, 350h and 450h. LS with 350h, 450h and 600h. RX with 350h and 450h. In the future they should experiment with Turbo+Hybrid, which might be able to drop fuel consumption even more.

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