Lexus repositioning wasn’t forced by new big brother brand Century, says global boss

Lexus president Takashi Watanabe has told CarExpert the repositioning of the brand wasn’t forced by the decision of parent company Toyota to introduce the even more upscale Century brand globally. 

In October 2025, Century was announced as the pinnacle of the ‘Toyota family brands’ which also includes Toyota, GR, budget brand Daihatsu (not sold in Australia) as well as Lexus. 

Speaking through an interpreter at the Japan Mobility Show (JMS) in Tokyo, Watanabe-san explained the repositioning of Lexus was part of a broader examination of where brands will focus for the future.

“It’s not necessarily because we released the Century,” he said. 

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When CarExpert enquired about the timing of the reshuffle, Watanabe-san stressed the ever-changing dynamics of the global automotive industry as a tipping point.

“This show represents the timing – we’re at a critical point. It wasn’t just because of Century, but because the world is changing so much.”

Lexus is currently performing strongly, with record global sales (851,214) in 2024 and an upward trend in Australia. Its sales locally are up 9.7 per cent year-to-date.

The much-publicised new approach comes while the brand is in a position of strength rather than a rethink after lacklustre results. 

“Globally there’s a lot of differences in perception of what the role of an automobile, a car, is,” the Lexus boss explained. 

“There’s an increasing change in values that people perceive about their needs, diversity – as far as interests as things like that.

“When we start talking about cars, the role of automobiles in society, how do we also make them sustainable? There are multiple answers that now surface which weren’t [in play] before today’s era.”

The Lexus chief was not talking about environmental sustainability, but business viability going forward.

“We were talking about ‘how has Lexus been up until now as a brand’ – ‘what has been our role?’ And ‘how are we going to move into the future of this whole society – how must we evolve?” 

“We had to be introspective and think about that, so for Toyota as a corporation, we thought about each brand’s role, we redeveloped it, and at this time, this is our next step moving towards the future.”

That future saw Lexus announced a “more adventurous” brand, with the designers leading a presentation showing a ‘Lexus ecosystem’ including the LS-badged coupe SUV and six-wheel people mover concepts.

They were joined by a catamaran, a small plane by Joby – an aviation company Toyota has invested $US 894 million ($A1.38 billion) since 2018 – all posited towards an oceanfront mansion. 

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