Like Toyota, Lexus has been updating its global vehicle platforms, but the luxury brand had been mostly focused on pricey car-based models such as the halo LC coupe and flagship LS sedan that don't have counterparts over at its mainstream corporate sibling. Until now.
Lexus' customer base has swung heavily toward crossovers, with the exception of the ES sedan, and the automaker is tapping into Toyota's new modular platforms to deliver next-generation utility vehicles and a new entry as well.
IS: The entry-level sport sedan received a midcycle freshening in 2015. Lexus has not announced a new generation of the compact rear-wheel-drive platform, but it still represents a volume play until the brand decides what to do next with one of its icons. If there's a redesign, it could happen as soon as 2020.
ES: A new generation of the ES hit showrooms this summer based on the redesigned Toyota Avalon that arrived a couple months earlier. The front-wheel-drive ES gets a Lexus version of TNGA and the same reworked V-6 motor and new eight-speed transmission as the Avalon. The ES gets a sporty, but mostly cosmetic, F-Sport trim for the first time and could be getting all-wheel drive to better compete with Asian and German rivals.
GS: The rear-wheel-drive GS has a question mark over its future as sales plummet. There's speculation that Lexus might trim back its sedan portfolio by dropping the GS and redirecting its would-be customers toward an awd ES instead.
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LS: A new generation of the LS went on sale this year. Sales are good, and Lexus is likely to wait a while before unveiling a sport F variant that could bring a bigger engine and stouter suspension to the flagship sedan.
RC: Scheduled for a freshening in a year or so, the rwd coupe will be getting mostly cosmetic changes, because it was new for 2015 and has faced the same precipitous sales decline as other the other sporty cars in the Lexus lineup.
LC: The halo coupe was introduced last year, and sales have been weaker than expected, mostly because the entire segment has declined rapidly. That could, perhaps, hasten the rollout of an F variant with a turbocharged version of the current car's naturally aspirated V-8 engine to stoke additional sales.
