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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