LC Chief Engineer Takes Over as Lexus President

Posted by Kevin on December 4th, 2019

LC chief engineer Koji Sato was been promoted to Lexus International president in an executive shakeup at the brand’s highest level.

Sato replaces Yoshihiro Sawa, who served as Lexus president since 2017. Sawa will remain with the company as a chief engineer.

Sato is best known as the chief engineer of the LC sports coupe and for his work developing the GA-L platform for rear-wheel drive Lexus vehicles, including the LS sedan. The appointment goes into effect on January 1st, 2020.

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Gecko

Administrator

#2

This could actually be a very (good!) big deal.

I

internalaudit

Expert

#3

I just watched MIB two night ago and yes, do please make Lexus sexy again, like the LC!

krew

Site Founder

Administrator

#4

LC chief engineer Koji Sato was been promoted to Lexus International president in an executive shakeup at the brand’s highest level.
Sato replaces Yoshihiro Sawa, who served as Lexus president since 2017. Sawa will remain with the company as a chief engineer.
Sato is best known as the chief engineer of the LC sports coupe and for his work developing the GA-L platform for rear-wheel drive Lexus vehicles, including the LS sedan. The appointment goes into effect on January 1st, 2020.

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mikeavelli

Moderator

#5

I’ve been lucky enough to meet him and we chat to this day. Always enthusiastic about the brand and he’s supportive of Lexus enthusiasts

very happy to see this!

M

mediumhot

Admirer

#6

I'm glad they are aware there was/is a problem and they are already working on it.

Lexus Cohen

Follower

#7

Make Lexus Great Again!

CRSKTN

Expert

#8

Thank god, the last guy was a f****** disaster if he's been responsible for 2017-today.

Ian Schmidt

Moderator

#9

On a practical level, I have to think this is probably a win for people who want a sportier Lexus and lots of F vehicles. And probably the end of the line for people who want 3LS wafting-on-a-cloud Lexus. But it'll probably be 2-3 years before we know what direction things are actually going.

Gecko

Administrator

#10

Thinking through how long product planning cycles run... not sure we can blame Sawa for much (that we've already seen or experienced).

Sato strikes me as passionate - that's what I am most excited about. And the guy who developed GA-L will probably want to get more use out of it, I'd imagine.

Will1991

Moderator

#11

Ian Schmidt said:
On a practical level, I have to think this is probably a win for people who want a sportier Lexus and lots of F vehicles. And probably the end of the line for people who want 3LS wafting-on-a-cloud Lexus. But it'll probably be 2-3 years before we know what direction things are actually going.

Hopefully it’s going to be different...

Instead of making only one car to fit all (ES) they will make a proper luxury (LS/ES) and a proper sports sedan (GS/IS).

If he managed to get GA-L and LC, clearly he likes the good stuff : )

H

Horus468

Fan

#12

Will1991 said:
Hopefully it’s going to be different...

Instead of making only one car to fit all (ES) they will make a proper luxury (LS/ES) and a proper sports sedan (GS/IS).

If he managed to get GA-L and LC, clearly he likes the good stuff : )

It’ll hurt, but it would be cool if they killed the IS/GS and replaced it with a “RS” (to align with the RC)
This would be their sport sedan while the ES can grow even more luxurious.

I

internalaudit

Expert

#13

^ Isn't the RC about the same size as the IS? I'm good with smaller sport sedans but it may alienate people here that want bigger ones for personal reasons.

So do what Acura did with TL and the TSX?

I

internalaudit

Expert

#14

Mark prefers the LC! Around the 20 min mark.

F1 Silver Arrows

Expert

#15

CT200h said:
Chief engineer tapped to lead Lexus luxury brand

Koji Sato is best known as the chief engineer of the super-sleek Lexus LC sports coupe and for his work developing the GA-L platform for rear-wheel-drive Lexus vehicles, including the LS sedan.

www.autonews.com

chief engineer of the LC project.

OMG HOLY SH*T YESSSSS THIS MADE ME SO HAPPY!! I really hope these are signs of good things to come.

S

ssun30

Expert

#16

Changing the president today will only affect things ten years from now, so I am not keeping optimism up...

A

Airplane

Fan

#17

I think it's time for a designer (non engineer) to be in the top executive group.

krew

Site Founder

Administrator

#18

Airplane said:
I think it's time for a designer (non engineer) to be in the top executive group.

President before Sawa was a designer, it brought the current focus on lifestyle and form over function. Not to be a jerk, but the last thing Lexus needs is a designer in charge -- we need new engines and the brand to take advantage of the GA-L platform.

Gecko

Administrator

#19

krew said:
President before Sawa was a designer, it brought the current focus on lifestyle and form over function. Not to be a jerk, but the last thing Lexus needs is a designer in charge -- we need new engines and the brand to take advantage of the GA-L platform.

Exactly what I was going to say.

RAL

Moderator

#20

krew said:
President before Sawa was a designer, it brought the current focus on lifestyle and form over function. Not to be a jerk, but the last thing Lexus needs is a designer in charge -- we need new engines and the brand to take advantage of the GA-L platform.

Candid is good, but you a jerk??? ... absolutely not!

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