Lexus Has Officially Been Dethroned As Toyota's Top Luxury Brand

It seems that every automotive brand needs its own luxury arm. After all, if the same company can appeal to multiple different markets at once, that's just more money it could conceivably make. Toyota got into the luxury car business at the tail end of the 1980s when it launched Lexus. It all began with the Lexus LS luxury sedan, and ever since, the brand has expanded to include luxury vehicles of all sizes that are beloved by drivers. Plus, Lexus is routinely seen as the most reliable car brand on the market.

While Lexus is certainly a luxury brand, it is not necessarily operating in the same ultra-luxury class as brands like Rolls Royce or Bentley. The most expensive Lexus model currently sold — the LX 700h – starts at $116,685, including a $1,450 delivery fee. Meanwhile, the least expensive Rolls Royce — the 2026 Ghost – starts at around $358,000. In fact, these cars are so expensive, that Rolls Royce doesn't even advertise prices on its website. Toyota doesn't have a brand that can compete with that level of luxury, until now.

In October 2025, Toyota announced a restructuring of the hierarchy of its brands. This includes the creation of the Century brand, which will supplant Lexus as Toyota's most luxurious brand. Toyota has been using this name for a long time almost exclusively in Japan, but it is now being spun off into its own entity to be a brand that can compete with the Rolls Royces and Bentleys of the world. Lexus isn't going anywhere, it's just going to be below Century on the luxury pecking order.

Toyota has been using the name Century since the mid-1960s, and the nameplate has been used to designate a line luxury vehicles, especially limousines. The Toyota Century is not sold outside of Japan, though there was a brief moment in the late-1990s when Toyota made a limited number of models to test out in other markets like Europe, the Middle East, and America. 

That being said, it is a go-to for the wealthy in Toyota's home country of Japan. It got its name to commemorate what would have been the 100th birthday of the company's founder, Sakichi Toyoda, in 1967. Toyota is looking to change everything with the new Century brand. A goal of the newly formed brand is to establish that name worldwide as the classic, luxury automobile, not just in its home country.

The company also wants to reestablish Century as the top of the food chain, rather than Lexus. By positioning Century as the flagship, it pushes Toyota back to the forefront, giving Lexus the space to be a bit more experimental. Century can focus on delivering classic, refined model types. Currently, the Century nameplate is being used for a sedan, and an SUV joined the lineup in 2023. 

With this new brand, it is also looking to add a luxury coupé model, which it will unveil at the 2025 Japan Mobility Show. Toyota announcing the Century brand is a major shakeup for the company, and only time will tell whether those with money will flock to the latest ultra-luxury marquee.