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Lexus CT 200h could be replaced by sub-compact hybrid CUV

The Lexus CT 200h is an interesting vehicle that never really caught on. It's a sporty Prius in sleeker hatchback clothing and was aimed at the Audi A3 when it hit the market in 2011. Since then, though, the CT has averaged a meager 16,000 sales per year. For that reason, the hybrid hatch won't be redesigned at the end of its life cycle. And according to Lexus' European brand boss, Alain Uyttenhoven, it could be replaced by a crossover. While you may lament yet another CUV hitting the market, Lexus needs a small car that sells in big numbers. Uyttenhoven told Autocar the brand aims to move 100,000 units per year in Europe to "give us visibility in the market." For 2016, European sales are on pace to hit just 70,000 units, with 10,000 of those coming from the CT 200h. He sees an opportunity for the right little Lexus based on the recent nature of the European luxury market. View 29 Photos According to Uyttenhoven, "a full 50 percent of the European luxury car market exists below the [$44,600] mark," and the only model Lexus has at that point is the CT. Put another way, the company has a remarkably slow seller as its sole representative for half of an entire continent's luxury market. Enter the crossover. Replacing the CT with a crossover makes a great deal of sense. The body style is getting more and more popular by the day, especially in the sub-compact and compact markets. Adding a smaller model – below the current NX crossover but larger than the LF-SA concept shown in Geneva – would allow Lexus to challenge the Mercedes-Benz GLA, the BMW X1, and the Audi Q3. We're betting the small crossover would use the Toyota C-HR as its basis and add a Lexus-correct heavily creased skin. Hybrid power is a given for the European market, where almost all Lexuses sold are gas-electric, but a conventional gas variant could join it in the US. That would give Lexus three hybrid CUVs in three popular sizes, alongside the NX and RX. With a forthcoming RX-based three-row on the horizon, the brand would have a full lineup of crossovers ready to take over the world. We'll miss the quirky CT when it goes, but it's hard to stop volume-driven progress. Related Video:

Updated Lexus CT200h coming next year, new variants reported

Lexus has had a minor success on its hands with the CT200h, a funky, five-door, sport-luxury hybrid that burst onto the scene in 2011, and managed just over 17,000 US sales in 2012. Worked out to a monthly average, that's nearly 50 percent more units per month than Lexus initially targeted when the car went on sale.
Though it's done well, the CT has been left behind while designers and engineers have reworked the rest of the Lexus lineup, bringing out fully revamped versions of the GS, IS and LS over the past few years. According to a report from Down Under, though, the little CT will get some attention soon.
Speaking to Sean Hanley, boss of Lexus Australia, Aussie site The Motor Report picked up a telling quote about the execs affections for the CT, when he said, "We see the CT200h as our greatest opportunity." Hanley added that a refresh of the CT could happen early in 2014, while a clean-sheet reworking would happen around 2016.

Lexus back in luxury sales race after three-year absence

Think the only challengers for the title of best-selling luxury brand hail from der Vaterland? Wrong. Lexus outsold the likes of Mercedes-Benz for the second time in 2014 last month. In fact, the Japanese luxury marque's total sales this year are a mere 12,000 units behind BMW.
Lexus was able to move 26,921 vehicles last month, a year-over-year increase of 21.1 percent, respectively. Mercedes, meanwhile, was just barely beaten, moving 26,617 units in April. The difference, though, is that Lexus has made far bigger year-over-year gains than Mercedes, which recorded a YOY increase of just 4.13 percent.
This is particularly troubling for the Germans, as it marks a return to form for Lexus that we haven't seen since before the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that decimated Japan. Prior to that natural disaster, Lexus enjoyed nearly a dozen years at the top of the luxury heap.