Lexus Europe vice president Alain Uyttenhoven recently discussed the next-generation LS flagship with Autocar:
Speaking to Autocar, Uyttenhoven said: “The LS will remain the pinnacle of the range and have the highest price point.”
He also denied rumours that the luxury saloon was going to adopt a Porsche Panamera-style liftback: “You have to understand how our customers use these cars. In the US if they want to carry things they also have a pick-up and in China most of them are driven, while they sit in the back.”
“It’s not good for the brand to have ‘Russian doll’ styling,” he said. “We’re not chasing market share so we need to make cars that people notice, cars that polarise opinion so that people love them or don’t like them. We also need to trade on Japanese differentiation, design and attention to detail.”
The rumor of Panamera-like styling came earlier this year from Motor Trend, and it made sense given the Lexus design & performance direction.
Even with this denial, the new LS is sure to reflect the new brand values, particularly with Uyttenhoven mentioning that it would “polarize opinion”. It’s going to be interesting times for the Lexus flagship.
[Source: Autocar]
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