Lexus LS limousine may be replaced by an SUV – report

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The original Lexus – the full-size LS limousine – may be succeeded by a seven-seat hybrid SUV after fewer than 1500 examples of the sedan were sold its home market last year, according to a new overseas report.

Japanese publication Mag-X claims Lexus is “considering” development of a new luxury SUV with three rows of seats, aimed at VIP and chauffeur-driven buyers in Japan and the Middle East.

It will reportedly be pitched as a replacement for the LS sedan, and despite its shape, “it may not be classified as an SUV”.

Just 11 examples of the current Lexus LS – introduced in 2017 – were reported as sold in Australia last year, alongside 2163 in the US, compared to 43 and 8809 Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedans respectively.

Mag-X reports “the basic concept” of the new Lexus SUV “is still in the planning stage,” including whether it would adopt the LS name.

But it says it will be powered by a 2.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine aided by two electric motors – which in turn, it speculates, would see the SUVe use the same TNGA-K underpinnings as the smaller Lexus NX and RX SUVs.

If correct, it would see Lexus’ largest and likely most expensive car-derived SUV share its DNA with the humble Toyota Camry – and have half the cylinders of the original LS.

MORE: 2024 Lexus LS500 Sports Luxury review

While it suggests TNGA-K is the most likely option, it speculates Lexus could instead use the ‘lightweight’ rear-wheel-drive platform under Toyota’s next-generation sports cars, or the TNGA-L chassis underpinning the existing LS and LC.

Lexus was once working on a full-size, car-derived SUV on the rear-wheel-drive TNGA-L platform, based on the LF-1 Limitless concept of 2018.

It’s said to have been intended as a ‘sports’ model aimed at the Porsche Cayenne, and may have used a new twin-turbo V8 engine, but the project was scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lexus already offers a full-size SUV in the LX (below), but it is based on the body-on-frame architecture of the Toyota LandCruiser.

MORE: Lexus LF-1 Limitless concept debuts in Detroit

The 2.4-litre, dual-motor hybrid system is used in the Lexus LM500h people mover, where it develops 272kW, and claims fuel consumption of 6.6 litres per 100 kilometres.

Mag-X reports a plug-in hybrid version may be offered.

Sharing the TNGA-K platform is another super-luxury Toyota group SUV, the Century SUV, which represents a high-riding counterpart to the Toyota Century sedan and uses 3.5-litre V6 plug-in hybrid power for a circa-$AU250,000 price.

The publication (translated) claims the new flagship model will focus on “chauffeur demand and is expected to be used as a means of transportation for important people,” including a bulletproof version for the Japanese Prime Minister.

Middle East sales are reportedly also planned, where extra-large SUVs are popular.

A release date for the new SUV is not stated, though if it is in an early stage of development, it may be at least two or three years away.

The current Lexus LS will be more than a decade old by that point, and Mag-X reports “within Toyota plans have been raised to give up on the three-box sedan” as it is “not expected to increase sales”.

The sedan’s future has long been under a cloud, given its sales decline, and that it has received few updates – a recent tech upgrade aside – since a facelift in 2021.

A good indicator of the company’s future-model plans, Lexus traditionally files trademarks bound for its next-generation models about two years before launch – but there has been no sign of any LS submissions.

For example, Lexus applied for the GX550 trademark in Australia in September 2021 – before unveiling the car in mid-2023 – while RX500h was trademarked in October 2020 for a June 2022 debut.

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