Lexus to launch new entry model, Yaris Cross-based 2023 Lexus LBX to succeed CT 200h
Hans · May 5, 2022 04:14 PM
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The decade-old Lexus CT 200h has long been discontinued in Malaysia but it’s still on sale in Japan. The hybrid-only Toyota Prius-based entry model Lexus is expected to be discontinued by the end of this year, which begs the next question – what will replace it?
According to Japanese publication Mag-X, the Lexus CT 200h will not have a direct successor, but its role as an entry point into the Lexus family will be replaced by a new, Toyota Yaris Cross-based SUV.
Long gone from Malaysia, it's still on sale in Japan, but not for much longer
Said model is rumoured to wear the Lexus LBX nameplate (short for Lexus B-Crossover?). Like the Toyota Yaris Cross, the Lexus LBX will ride on the B-segment TNGA-B platform.
The Lexus LBX is expected to make its debut in 2023 and will be positioned below the Toyota Corolla Cross-based Lexus UX, which uses a larger TNGA-C platform that’s also shared with the Toyota Corolla Altis.
Since it succeeds the Lexus CT 200h, the Lexus LBX is said to be a hybrid-only model, at least in Japan.
Globally, the Toyota Yaris Cross is available one of two engine options - a naturally aspired 1.5-litre Dynamic Force M15A-FKS engine paired to a Direct Shift CVT-type automatic transmission, or a hybrid variant of the former, the Atkinson cycle 1.5-litre M15A-FXE engine.
As such, a regular combustion engine variant Lexus LBX cannot be ruled out yet.
In Malaysia, the Lexus UX is the brand’s entry point for now. Prices of the 2.0-litre Dynamic Force engine-powered Lexus UX 200 range from RM 237,191 to RM 291,082. Prices are valid until 30-June 2022.
Lexus UX
As for the Yaris Cross, the model is not sold here, although it’s available in Singapore. Note the Singapore doesn’t sell the Toyota Corolla Cross.
Over 15 years of experience in automotive, from product planning, to market research, to print and digital media. Garages a 6-cylinder manual RWD but buses to work.
