Lexus Ceased Production of HS 250h in 2012

Just because the Toyota Group is the king of hybrids does not mean that all of its products are a runaway success. Take Lexus' HS 250h dedicated hybrid sedan, which was introduced in North America in August of 2009, for example. In 2010, Lexus sold a mediocre 10,663 units of the HS 250h, which at the time was priced from $34,200. The following year was worse, much, much worse with sales plummeting 73 percent to a pitiful 2,864 units or less than 240 cars per month.
Apparently, Lexus evaluated that sales would not get any better so it made the decision to quietly pull the plug on the HS 250h. In a response to an email from InsideLine, Lexus told the website that it ended production of the HS 250h in January.
"Production of the HS 250h ceased in January, 2012. Lexus continues to monitor sales for each product and we make adjustments to make sure that we meet market demand, and the discontinuation of HS was part of that adjustment," said Lexus in a statement.
Interestingly, the company noted that the new ES 300h will not take the place of the HS 250h.
"The ES 300h is not replacing HS in our lineup. It's merely part of the hybridization of many of our existing vehicles in the Toyota and Lexus lineups."
Lexus still has the HS 250h listed on its website at $37,030 excluding handling and destination, most likely because it has yet to deplete its inventory.

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Mercedes to Drop R-Class from its U.S. Lineup

It's official: some seven years after the presentation of the U.S.-built R-Class, Mercedes-Benz's multi-purpose crossover model will be gradually phased out in the States as there won't be a 2013 model, however, it will continue to be offered in overseas markets.
Mercedes-Benz USA spokesperson Chrisitan Bokich confirmed the news to Carscoop and added that company's three other SUV/crossover models including the GLK, M-Class and the larger GL, cover the market's needs.
"It's true that there will be no model year 2013 R-Class in the U.S. Over the years since the R-Class was introduced, we have expanded our light truck model offering significantly and these vehicles are outselling the R-Class to the extent that we can no longer make the business case for continuing to offer the R-Class," Bokich told us in an email today.
We also asked Bokich about Mercedes-Benz's future plans in the segment, and even though he wouldn't comment on a replacement for the R-Class, he did confirm the presentation of a new GL model at the upcoming New York Auto Show in April.
"Here in the U.S., our top-volume premium light trucks are the M-Class, GL, and GLK models (as you probably know, we're gearing up right now for the world-premiere of the new segment-leading GL at the New York Auto Show.) While we're not commenting on the future of the R-class after this generation, the car will be on sale in other markets, including its main market China and even Canada, Mexico, and other European markets - just to name a few," said Bokich.
Nevertheless, even if Mercedes decides against building a successor to the R-Class at its Tuscaloosa, Alabama plant, the production of the next generation C-Class at the factory will more than compensate for the loss.

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Subaru Kicks Off Series Production of BRZ

Subaru held a special ceremony today at its Gunma factory in Ota-city, Japan, to mark the series production start of the Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 (named GT 86 in Europe) rear-wheel drive coupes. The presidents of both companies attended the event. The factory, which will produce both models as well as the Impreza by March 2013, underwent several changes to cope with the extra capacity.
The two Japanese automakers first agreed on business collaboration in October 2005, and after expanding their ties with new agreements related to development and production in April 2008, they began designing the coupe models, the production versions of which were presented at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show last December.
At the ceremony, Toyota's President Akio Toyoda said: “I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the ceaseless efforts of all FHI people and staff who were involved in the development, production and preparations for both models. The Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 would not have been successfully developed without collaboration between FHI and TMC."
Yasuyuki Yoshinaga, the president of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd, which is Subaru's parent company, said: "The car symbolizes our corporate strategy in two significant aspects: good progress of our alliances; and advancement of our “select and focus” approach."

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