Lexus South Africa has confirmed to Cars.co.za that the RC F coupé and LS sedan are no longer available locally. The LC, too, has vanished, though the company promises it will return soon…
The Lexus stable has lost a couple of steeds, with the Toyota-backed luxury brand confirming to Cars.co.za that the RC F performance coupé and LS luxury sedan are no longer available in South Africa.
At the start of 2024, we noticed that the RC, LS and LC were all missing from the freshly overhauled Lexus SA website. So, we asked the local division whether or not these 3 nameplates had officially exited the Mzansi market.
Interestingly, while Lexus SA confirmed that the RC and LS were “discontinued at the end of 2023”, the firm’s local division added the LC “will make a reappearance soon with a different derivative”. We’re guessing that will be a hybrid version of this model (likely badged as the LC500h), offered in either coupé or convertible form – or perhaps both.
Prior to the LC’s current sabbatical, the range had included both of the above body styles, with the LC500 coupé starting at R2 515 400 and the LC500 convertible kicking off at R2 666 600. In either case, power came from a naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8 petrol engine. Peak outputs of 351 kW and 540 Nm were directed to the rear axle via a 10-speed automatic transmission as standard.
Meanwhile, before it quietly exited South Africa, the rear-wheel-drive RC coupé line-up had comprised RC F and RC F Track Edition derivatives, with these likewise atmospheric V8-powered models (351 kW/530 Nm) priced from R1 713 400 and R2 736 200, respectively. The RC nameplate debuted in SA back in 2015, while RC350 and RC200t derivatives were also available during its circa-8-year local lifecycle.
And the LS flagship sedan portfolio, which had competed against the likes of the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class? Well, before this rear-driven luxury saloon was axed locally, there was the naturally aspirated 3.5-litre V6 hybrid LS500h (making listed outputs of 264 kW and 350 Nm, and priced from R2 678 900) as well as the LS500 (R2 753 500) and LS500 F Sport (R2 543 600), with the latter 2 offering 310 kW and 600 Nm courtesy of a twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6 petrol mill.
Tellingly, in 2023, these 3 nameplates were the Lexus brand’s least popular offerings. Just 8 units of the LC were registered in South Africa last year, along with 4 examples of the RC F and a single unit of the LS sedan. The NX was the brand’s strongest seller with 355 units, followed by the RX (153 units), LX (152 units), ES (137 units), UX (90 units) and IS (27 units).
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