Automotive News interviewed Lexus National Dealer Advisory Council Chairman John Iacono and through the process, revealed some interesting information about the brand’s future. Additional details from the interview were also provided by Motor1. Here are the highlights:
- Iacono: “We’ve had SUVs that we’ve been asking for that we have gotten the thumbs up on, and they recently showed us some coming products that I really can’t expand on, but that we are very, very enthusiastic about.”
- A new 3-row people mover is on the way, presumably the new TX 350 and TX 500h, set to replace the existing RX 350L and 450hL.
- Changes are afoot for the LS, as Iacono notes, “An improved LS is also on the way. Not too many people really understand where we’re going with the LS, which will be a true benchmark for the brand.”
- Iacono confirmed that Lexus is working on a new, presumably body-on-frame rugged off-road vehicle. It will be a “low-volume, halo model for the brand that will be vastly different from what people will expect from a Lexus.”
- The good news doesn’t stop there, with Iacono further confirming new EV models as well: “I personally with other Lexus dealers have gotten a glimpse of what that might look like when — not if, when — it comes to Lexus, and I believe that it has put a smile on our face, that we’re going to have a player in a market.”
- Last but not least – and perhaps most important to many automotive journalists – Lexus seems to be getting a new infotainment system. “The telematics that are coming our way are going to be industry leading and they’re going to be what we currently do not have,” Iacono said.
That’s a lot to take in and in the wake of so much other recent model news, 2021 – 2022 is shaping up to be the product-led renaissance that many Lexus fans have been anticipating.
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