Rumor: BMW 1-Series competitor coming from Lexus

2010 Lexus HS 250h

Most of the auto publications are reporting these days that Lexus is currently working on a competitor model for BMW’s 1 Series. Even though we reported these news rumors in 2007, we decided to give it another go. So what’s the latest?

Well, Lexus is clearly interested in competing on the entry-level car luxury market and their strategy seems to align with BMW’s: focus on smaller, more efficient cars and higher return. The entry-level Lexus will be a compact hatch and still on a front-wheel drive transmission. It will be available with a hybrid, diesel or gasoline engine, clearly an indication on how it plans to overtake the BMW EfficientDynamics vehicles.

The first model showcased will be an European-only hybrid version based on the 2010 Toyota Prius and it will be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

Are they too late to the game? We’ll find out soon enough…