Report: Lexus Ends LC Production This Year

[Gecko]

A letter to dealers shares that LC production will end in August 2026


The LC had a nine year run and more than 15,000 units sold


Retiring the LC 500 also ends production of Lexus’ 5.0L 2UR-GSE V8 engine



Even though it was expected, this is still a tough moment: Lexus appears ready to end LC production later this year and send its flagship coupe off into history. In a letter sent to dealers and shared with Lexus Enthusiast, dealerships were notified that LC 500 production will cease in August.
With a nine year production run and more than 15,000 units sold across LC 500, LC 500h, coupe, convertible, and Inspiration Series cars, the LC will go down in history as one of Lexus’ most iconic models. The 2012 LF-LC concept car stunned the world and sent buyers and media into a frenzy...

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[mikeavelli]

This hurts bad…….

 

[Gor134]

Been on sale for almost a decade without a thorough refresh, expected this!

 

[LexDDas]

and say it with me now F*CK YOU, AKIO TOYODA.

 

[Kelvin2020]

Akio, you are a cancer within the brand. You have driven a once vibrant brand toward destruction. He turned a brand that had finally broken free from its old labels back into something boring again. You have disappointed the people who supported this brand again and again.

Take a hard look at yourself. Why push Lexus to a dead end? When Lexus is no longer worth buying, don’t blame anyone else. The only person responsible is you.

You are the one who buried Lexus with your own hands. F*CK YOU, AKIO TOYODA.

 

[LCLFV]

And with that, the last official Lexus V8 ever goes out the window...

 

[LCLFV]

Akio, you are a cancer within the brand. You have driven a once vibrant brand toward destruction. He turned a brand that had finally broken free from its old labels back into something boring again. You have disappointed the people who supported this brand again and again.

Take a hard look at yourself. Why push Lexus to a dead end? When Lexus is no longer worth buying, don’t blame anyone else. The only person responsible is you.

You are the one who buried Lexus with your own hands. F*CK YOU, AKIO TOYODA.

You know I always thought this scene of Palpatine from Revenge of the Sith was just a joke. Unfortunately, it wasn't. This is legitimately how Akio and many others in his position think.


Promise you at some point in his life, Akio looked in the mirror and said "I AM Toyota."

 

[boltzer]

Promise you at some point in his life, Akio looked in the mirror and said "I AM Toyota."

Reminds me of this article from ‘09: https://www.kevinmeyer.com/harvard-toyota-and-the-rest-of-the-story/

But the story gets better. [Toyoda] quits Booz Allen and goes back to Japan to ask his father, Shoichiro Toyoda who was President of Toyota at the time, and is the son of Toyota founder Kiichiro Toyoda, for a job.

His father tells him that no one at Toyota wants him because he has no useful skills and his last name would make him a burden. The only way into Toyota was the entry level management training program with all the rest of the new hires. So in he goes and 25 years later he makes it to the top.

I don’t know the extent to which meritocracy out-punches nepotism in a large, Japanese company like Toyota. But having seen the GR GT press tour so far where some of Akio Toyoda’s words came off a little…vindictive…none of this surprises me.

 

[Ian Schmidt]

Reminds me of this article from ‘09: https://www.kevinmeyer.com/harvard-toyota-and-the-rest-of-the-story/

I wasn't familiar with Akio's background before, but given law degree + MBA everything makes more sense now. At one point we thought he was saving TMC from the bean counters, but he's actually the end boss of bean counting.

 

[ssun30]

Reminds me of this article from ‘09: https://www.kevinmeyer.com/harvard-toyota-and-the-rest-of-the-story/

I don’t know the extent to which meritocracy out-punches nepotism in a large, Japanese company like Toyota. But having seen the GR GT press tour so far where some of Akio Toyoda’s words came off a little…vindictive…none of this surprises me.

I don't think there's much nepotism in his case. The company was genuinely in a bad shape around the 2008 global financial crisis and the family had limited say in corporate matters. The first decade of his leadership solved some of the biggest longstanding issues within TMC (best example is consolidating the domestic dealership network).

I wasn't familiar with Akio's background before, but given law degree + MBA everything makes more sense now. At one point we thought he was saving TMC from the bean counters, but he's actually the end boss of bean counting.

Around 2022 there are a series of "hit pieces" in Japanese media criticizing his corporate governance, such as increasing reliance on contract workers instead of full time employees, and switching from long time supplier Nippon Steel for cheaper Korean and Chinese steel. Now we see the hypocrisy when he said he wants to preserve Japanese automotive jobs.

TMC today is still stronger than ever because the global car industry as a whole is suffering from major corporate governance problems, whether it's legacy brands or "new waves". VAG never recovered from Dieselgate and likely never match TMC again. The American Big Three are a mess like they've always been. Nissan is struggling to stay above water and Honda is having its own decade of stagnation. Chinese brands are on the rise but they are engaged in extremely cut throat competition that will leave very few winners at the end. The Koreans seem to be the only ones making sane decisions but they are lacking in marketing and branding. It's hard to not make mistakes when the past decade has seen more changes in trends than ever.

 

[Ian Schmidt]

TMC today is still stronger than ever because the global car industry as a whole is suffering from major corporate governance problems, whether it's legacy brands or "new waves".

For sure, but there's certainly reason for concern about TMC's future too. There have been multiple attempted fixes for the V35A that haven't actually fixed it. As far as I know that's unprecedented for Toyota. Plus of course Lexus going from a respected brand with a well-understood story to a Toyota trim level, and whatever's going on with Crown and GR.

 

[LCLFV]

I like how Stellantis isn't even in the conversation because they're about to meet the same fate as British Leyland.

 

[jgannon]

Looks this site name needs to change to "Lexus Misérables".

 

[LCLFV]

Looks this site name needs to change to "Lexus Misérables".

How would you expect people to react when every single enthusiast-oriented vehicle from Lexus is cancelled on a site called "Lexus Enthusiast"?