Lexus South Africa has discontinued the CT hatchback and GS sedan, with both models no longer appearing on the brand’s local website.
The CT200h S hybrid hatchback – which received an update as recently as February 2018 – had been priced at R533 900, while the local GS range had comprised two derivatives: the GS350 EX (R801 800) and GS350 F-Sport (R915 600).
The last time the rear-wheel-drive GS – which had competed against the likes of the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class – appeared in Naamsa’s sales figures was in July 2018, when the Japanese firm registered two units. In June 2018, meanwhile, a single CT200h was registered.
Of course, it’s not just here in South Africa that these two models have been struggling in the sales charts. Rumours of the impending death of the GS have been circulating since at least early March 2017, while the box-fresh UX crossover (scheduled for an SA launch in January 2019) has long been tipped to take over from the CT as the brand’s entry-level model.
Meanwhile, the new, seventh-generation ES is set to arrive in local dealerships soon, and this front-wheel-drive saloon is likely to be repositioned slightly in order to fill the gap left by the GS.
