Fuel economy standards are forcing all the manufacturers. Mercedes' line actually would be fine if they actually sold the A- and B-class in the US, but since they don't want to dilute the brand here they've got to move the CLA. And it's not just the US. The reason so many cars are now 2 liter is because of Chinese standards. Sadly what is likely to happen is that all the premier brands are going to build a bunch of cheaper cars or get gobbled up by big companies to survive, if they haven't already been for other reasons like Bentley, Rolls, Ferrari, Porsche (actually this one gobbled up VW, however that worked), Audi, Lamborghini, Bugatti, etc).Seeing the success of the CLA, many automakers are turning to low priced luxury vehicles to bring in younger customers and boosts sales. Lexus will not do such a thing though.
"We will not head down below $30,000," Lexus chief Jeff Bracken said. "We have Toyota and Scion to handle that price level for us."
The closest thing that Lexus has to a CLA competitor is its CT 200h, which starts from $32,050. This model is a hybrid hatchback though, which means that it really isn't a direct competitor to the CLA sedan.
![]()
Senior vice president of Toyota's US sales arm Bob Carter suggested that Benz and BMW may be making more entry level vehicles to help meet up coming CAFE fuel economy standards. The two brands rely on their relatively low volume MINI and smart brands to help raise corporate mileage levels. Lexus, due to Toyota and Scion, doesn't have to worry about this and can therefore focus on higher profit luxury vehicles, Carter explained.
Hopefeully BMW and Mercedes won't have to pull off something as sad and pathetic as the Aston Martin Cygnet.
