Yahoo Autos Lexus LM leads the chauffeur-driven luxury minivan market
The trend has been building momentum for years, but Toyota is making it official with the Lexus LM. The king of chauffeur-driven luxury minivans is here. LM stands for "Luxury Mover" and it made its official debut at Auto Shanghai 2023.
For the past decade these VIP vans have been slowly replacing town cars in Asia as the go-to conveyances of the wealthy. After all, why would you deign to stoop down and contort yourself into the door opening of a traditional sedan when you could simply step right through the cavernous sliding portal of a van?
The trend began with the Nissan Elgrand, introduced in Japan in 1997, but kicked into high gear when Toyota entered the ring with the Alphard in 2002. With dueling high-end vans, options such as rear privacy glass, 18-speaker sound systems, refrigerators, glassware cabinets, dual reclining rear captain's chairs (with no middle row) and ottomans began to emerge. Unlike conversion vans that shared platforms with delivery and work vehicles, these had front-wheel-drive (or front-biased AWD) layouts and four-wheel independent suspensions, maximizing rear cabin space and comfort. Even Buick has gotten in on the act.
The craze quickly spread around Asia and in 2019 the first-generation Lexus LM, based on the third-gen Toyota Alphard, debuted in Shanghai for sale in China, India and southeast Asia. Ironically it was never sold where the class originated, in Japan.
That won't be the case for the new LM, which will go on sale in more than 60 countries, including Japan and several in Europe. Also, while a Toyota-badged version is presumably coming, the Lexus LM is the first variant to debut, signaling its importance as more than just a spindle grille.
