Citing the January edition of Japanese magazine MAG-X, lexusenthusiast.com, reports that the presence of a bent-six mill in the LS could lead to a model overlap and that parent company, Toyota, opted to remove the GS so as to "fulfil customer demand for a large sedan".
"After close consideration of its image and positioning in the lineup, Toyota Motor Corporation came to a conclusion that the GS doesn’t/won’t play a desired role in the lineup," a translated extract from the magazine article read.
It further states that a new GS was only on the cards for the 2018, and that the current L10 generation, which debuted globally in 2011 before receiving a facelift in 2015 (last year in South Africa), will end its lifecycle with no replacement due. At the same time, the marque is also getting ready for the launch of the new UX SUV, which is expected to slot in below the NX and use the same underpinnings as the recently launched C-HR.
No confirmation from Lexus on whether the GS will indeed be dropped has yet been made.
