No need to beat the dead horse over and over again. In short five things happened:
1) Their mother company was pouring money into TNGA to revolutionize the company, which spread their resources thin. Most of the lackluster models we see are from the five years it took to make the transition.
2) Tohoku Earthquake crippled the entirety of Japan and its future. Imagine how well the German brands will do if a nuke was dropped on Stuttgart.
3) Territorial dispute with China reset their brand presence in the country. They have to start from scratch in the biggest auto market in the world. Imagine how well the German brands will do if Trump charges a 100% tariff overnight.
4) Akio Toyoda had to fight a power struggle to make sure the brand goes according to his vision. For the first time the company is lead by someone who doesn't count beans and actually loves cars. But it takes years to see the effect of his leadership.
5) Crossover booming, sedans dying.
I don't think any of these things are excuses anymore.
1. TNGA development has been a big deal, but it seems to be all "Toyota-first" with Lexus as an afterthought. In most other organizations, premium products and brands launch the latest and greatest which later trickles down to mainstream products and brands. GA-L seems like a "pie in the sky" pet project platform for LS and LC alone. TTV6 is underwhelming. Outdated AWD system. Camry and Avalon debut before ES. Rav4 debuts before NX. Toyota gets everything first. TNGA has lit Toyota on fire while Lexus is still spinning in a corner.
2. How much longer can we make excuses about the earthquake? Yes, it disrupted production, but that is years in the rearview at this point and doesn't speak to all of the current product planning struggles.
3. I understand the dispute with China, but did all of their product planning and development come to a standstill for that reason alone? Political uncertainty is part of the game.
4. At this point, I actually believe it is Akio who has hurt Lexus more than any president before. He has been overseeing this ship since 2009 - when we had exciting products like IS F and LFA, and a stronger, overall more competitive lineup. Over a decade, Lexus has crumbled under his leadership. One positive is global expansion, yes, but the product has suffered terribly.
5. Lexus was once the envy of the industry with luxury SUVs and look where they are now. They were too slow to react with NX, UX is a joke, RX has slipped and the other two are a decade old. LQ is already late - Lexus has been toying with the idea of a premium RWD unibody crossover since 2003 and we are still two years out? In the meantime, Mercedes, BMW and Audi have used their resources to EXPAND their sedan lineups at nearly every level - while simultaneously blowing out their SUV lineups.
Lexus is quite simply lost. We have all been willing to cut them some slack for what seems like multiple "reset" periods, but after more than a decade of missteps and poor product planning, I think it's clear that better days are behind us. The weirdest part? Toyota's future has never looked brighter than it does right now.
