New GX posts highest SA sales by Lexus model in years

The new Lexus GX has only just hit the market in South Africa, but it’s already posted the highest single-month sales total by a Lexus model in many, many years…

Though the Lexus GX has only just arrived in South Africa, the Prado-based luxury ladder-frame SUV has already posted the highest single-month sales total by a Lexus model in several years.

Yes, Lexus registered 63 units of the new GX in March 2025, all sold via the dealer channel. While that figure may not seem overly impressive at first glance, it’s worth noting that GX pricing kicks off at a heady R1 766 000 and runs through to R1 867 000 (also keep in mind that Lexus has long been a low-volume brand in SA).

According to Toyota SA Motors, order books for the new Lexus GX opened in February 2025, shortly before Cars.co.za published its pricing scoop for this new-to-Mzansi nameplate. So, the sales figure reported in March technically also includes orders placed in the prior month.

Still, the 63-unit haul meant the GX immediately outsold all other Lexus models in March 2025, finishing well ahead of the NX (40 units), the freshly updated LX (16 units), the RX (11 units), the ES sedan (3 units), the recently arrived fully electric RZ (3 units) and the UX (2 units), while the IS failed to trouble the scorers. In the end, the GX accounted for a considerable 45.7% of the brand’s 138-unit total last month.

So, just how long has it been since a Lexus model managed a loftier single-month sales total in South Africa? Well, though there are admittedly a few gaps in our records, by our reckoning this could potentially be the highest single-month tally by a Lexus nameplate since the IS sedan hit 70 units way back in September 2012. Yes, that’s nearly 13 years ago…

As a reminder, each of the derivatives in the new Lexus GX line-up is powered by the Japanese firm’s twin-turbocharged 3.4-litre V6 petrol engine (and each thus wears the “GX 550” moniker). Familiar from both the Land Cruiser 300 and the since-discontinued LX 600 (the latter having recently been replaced by the new LX 700h) but here detuned slightly to 260 kW and 650 Nm, the V35A-FTS engine is mated to all 4 wheels via a 10-speed automatic transmission.

This petrol motor serves to further differentiate the GX from the Land Cruiser Prado, with the latter offered exclusively in 2.8-litre, 4-cylinder turbodiesel guise (for the record, as many as 495 units of the Prado were sold locally in March 2025). Positioned between the Lexus RX and flagship LX, the GX shares various elements – though, again, not its powertrain – with this latest Prado, right down to its “J250” model code.

To refresh your memory, the Lexus GX is a body-on-frame SUV that traces its roots all the way back to 2002. While the opening 2 generations were produced exclusively in left-hand-drive guise (catering primarily to North America), this 3rd iteration is also manufactured in right-hand drive, opening the door to introductions in its domestic market of Japan as well as in Australia and indeed now South Africa.