I have heard that for all intents and purposes, Toyota has informally "taken over" Mazda, at Mazda's own request. While it would piss me off to see things like GS and IS delayed and deleted, cost sharing with Mazda would probably yield a very attractive portfolio of RWD vehicles across 3 brands in the next 5-10 years.
In 2017 what I noticed is that Mazda had made announcement to a number of low key sources at the end of that year, that they were moving forward with a rear wheel drive platform and it would involve Toyota. It would replace the Mazda6.
At the time in September 2017, no one was sure what was happening for the 2018MY Mazda6. People thought it would be redesigned. A few low key sources and insiders reported that it would be facelifted for 2018 (was already refreshed early 2015 as a 2016), but other sources stated an all-new model would come much later and be shown at Tokyo.
I had to piece both together.
Mazda revealed the Vision Concept sedan that October in Tokyo and then it was mentioned by an Australian news source, that the new Mazda6 was a RWD vehicle echoing many aspects of the Vision.
Considering the amount of time that elapsed between that statement in 2017 to 2020 something tells me that this is likely when some of these decisions were made back then between the companies. Whatever plans they had for the IS would have shifted in 2017 because the level of changes coming definitely need 3 years to execute.
Plans to axe Mark X date back to 2016, which spurned rumors of shift to GA-K in 2017. After 2017, those rumors died down and in 2019, Mazda came up.
I really didn't want to point that out because it does highlight a discrepancy with my own reporting in 2017-18.
I always had a 2020 SOP date from both Lexus China sources (Mandarin), but I moved to 2021 on the basis nothing was happening as of last year with a TNGA vehicle and Japanese rumors of CY2021 (which I didn't really read closely myself).
I got my information from Lexus China sources listing a number of production dates in 2020 and 2021. I looked at Japanese sources, UK and USA. I came up with a few more things, which highlighted processes which concerned timeline goals for individual responsibilities, related to the development program.
One of the stages listed related to design cubing, which was to achieve completion in spring 2018. I identified that as design freeze. The China info was from 2016 and listed only dates and model codes.
I got the NX Canada information from an industry-only database, from 2016. As I did Highlander, Tacoma EOP, and Tundra production dates. And verifying it from other people in entry-mid level employment at Toyota globally.
From this info, I'll be honest and say, 2020 was concrete for me pulling all this info together for IS. CY 2021 for 2022 was purely guesstimate out of insecurity. Only the 2NX changed dates, but it was very hard to go off of, when nothing in some databases was changing with the start of production dates for IS. Yet no test vehicles in 2018-19.
I pretty much stopped trusting those databases as having consistently up-to-date information, but it looks like they were right anyway, but wrong with platform. NX date changed, but IS date never changed from July 2020.
Any of you can tell why I was so pessimistic discussing anything IS, when I suspected it shifted to model year 2022. It meant that contradicted my previous dates, but now little to no proof of 2021 release, other than lack of physical testers running around, no trademarks, and Japanese rumors.
After 2019 closed, I could tell something seriously off was going on regarding IS and chose to just shut up. LE just uncovered it all.
The updated IS definitely had a 2018 design freeze, but the source of this info never explicitly confirmed it was GA-L or GA-N.
The turbo engine is likely going be named IS 300 or there is a new trademark lurking somewhere.
Toyota doesn't care how trademarks are applied anymore. 3.5tt vs LS500 3.5 vs LS350. 2.4t vs IS 300. LS600h vs 4.6L They are taking creative license I imagine.