By way of Inside Line, Lexus has confirmed that the HS 250h has been discontinued:
In an e-mail response to an Inside Line query, Toyota said: “Production of the HS 250h ceased in January, 2012. Lexus continues to monitor sales for each product and we make adjustments to make sure that we meet market demand, and the discontinuation of HS was part of that adjustment. The ES 300h is not replacing HS in our lineup. It’s merely part of the hybridization of many of our existing vehicles in the Toyota and Lexus lineups.”
Lexus makes an interesting distinction in their annoucement, stating that the ES 300h “is not replacing HS” — and yet, the HS 250h always felt like a placeholder, occupying a small corner of the market while Lexus prepared the CT and now the ES hybrid.
Despite any other issues that existed with the HS, there’s no question that it was squeezed out of the lineup — a sad end to an unfortunate vehicle.
[Source: Inside Line]
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