The Lexus CT 200h is by no means a flop of a car. It routinely sells 10,000 units a year, which is a healthy number for a car of different circumstances. Unfortunately, for the CT 200h, it belongs in the premium compact market that’s worth around 750,000 cars in Europe alone. So in that respect, the CT 200h has failed to live up to the expectations of Lexus, so much so that that Lexus Europe chief Alain Uyttenhoven admitted that there’s talk of ending the CT 200h’s production when its lifespan concludes in 2018. No immediate successor has been identified, but according to Autocar, there is some sentiment that a production version of the LF-SA Concept that was shown at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show could eventually take the spot that will presumably be vacated by the CT 200h.
For Lexus, the rationale behind this big move is simple, at least if it does end up happening. The CT 200h isn’t selling as well as Lexus hoped relative to the segment it’s in. The company could develop a successor that’s better in every way, or it could just leave the segment entirely and concentrate on a more lucrative crossover/SUV market whose growth hasn’t shown signs of slowing down anytime soon.
The numbers even back it up because of the 652,000 units that Lexus sold all over the world in 2015, the Lexus NX and RX accounted for close to half of that number with both models selling roughly 150,000 units apiece. Lexus even expects the NX and RX to add to those sales numbers in 2016 to about 170,000 and 200,000 units, respectively.
Having a hybrid crossover to slot below the NX isn’t a guarantee of booming sales, but with customers tripping over themselves to buy crossovers and SUVs, the ceiling for a new model would be significantly higher compared to a successor to the CT 200h, even if the premium compact market is healthy in its own right.
And don’t be fooled by the robust sales numbers because Lexus isn’t doing as well as it likes in Europe, where it sold only 64,000 units across the board in 2015. That’s less than 10 percent of the company’s total sales volume. Uyttenhoven even said that the rough going across the pond is largely tied to the company having only one model – the CT 200h – in the sub-€40,000 ($45,000) bracket, which he adds accounts for “50 percent of the European luxury car market.”
So the question boils down to what the Lexus CT 200h can offer compared to a new hybrid crossover. From the looks of things, Lexus appears to be leaning towards the new crossover, a move that makes sense if it really wants to take a bigger piece of the crossover/SUV pie.
Continue after the jump to read the full story.
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