A Lexus senior official has confirmed his company is going to enter the crossover market by developing a new baby RX. The Japanese luxury brand is obviously tempted by the success of cars like Mercedes GLK, Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Range Rover Evoque, and want a piece of this cake. But they need a good recipe if they want to have something to say.

Sources suggest the CT200h hatchback as the car to underpin for the new Lexus crossover. Being a downmarket SUV, the new car should not only be smaller than the RX, it should also be more efficient. All that makes the CT200 platform a suitable base for it.

Lexus admits they’ve been slow to respond to this growing segment, but then the RX has always been so successful in sales they didn’t really felt the need to reinforce their position in the SUV market.

“We have been very slow to come to the market with a downsized SUV,”  Andy Pfeiffenberger, vice president of Lexus Europe said. “This is an area of our range that you will see develop over the next few years.”

via AutoExpress