Lexus Likely To Lose Crown As Top Luxury Brand In U.S.
07.02.12
NAGOYA, Japan—The foremost of Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus brand said extensive sales of the upscale vehicles will likely fall dumpy of last year’s total, with the brand set to lose its hunger-held status as the top-selling luxury car in the U.S.
“We would have ended up at the same neck as last year, but now we’re probably going to be short,” Lexus publicity and product planning general manager Karl Schlicht said in an audience.
He blamed the likely fall on a combination of natural disasters in Japan and Thailand, a stronger yen against the dollar and tougher game in the luxury market.
On Wednesday, Toyota said it would unfold production cutbacks through Nov. 12 at several North American plants due to parts shortages from its Thailand operations.
Last month, its U.S. Lexus Part’s sales fell 14% from a year ago to 18,092 vehicles. Through Oct. 31, whole U.S. Lexus sales were 153,739, down 16% from the same period a year ago, In deviate from, BMW AG sold 246,888 vehicles in the same 10-month interval.
Mr. Schlicht, the first non-Japanese manager to run Lexus, acknowledged the division is favourite to relinquish its longtime position as the top-selling luxury disgrace in the U.S.
“To be honest, the competition has gotten stronger, but I don’t mull over it’s fair to say we lost the crown this year good because of that,” he said, noting production lost due to Japan’s Hike earthquake and the current flooding in Thailand.
Mr. Schlicht said there are no plans to move casting of Lexus vehicles from Japan to markets such as the U.S. to cope with the yen’s upsurge to recent all-time highs.
But he indicated that could happen at the end of the day if the Japanese currency stabilizes at the current elevated levels or strengthens further.
“Incontestably [Toyota] management understands that if this persists or gets worse we may have to move some film” offshore, he said.
Currently, all Lexus models are made in Japan with the raise an objection to of some RX crossover sport-utility vehicles sold in North America, which are produced in Ontario, Canada.
A higher yen erodes the value of dollar-denominated profits and makes Japanese exports less competitive abroad.
Mr. Schlicht said the fall from No. 1 in the U.S. will give Lexus some “gulp of air space” to prepare for new cars, such as a remodeled GS midsize sedan, noting the tag hasn’t introduced a full-size sedan since 2007.
Source: Wall Street Journal (blog)
Handiwork of the Lexus SC will end this July after having been able to reap the successes from its long run that began when it arrived in markets in 1991. Lexus Launches "Perpetual Jewel" SC430 in Japan, Is End of Production Nigh?all 2 news articles »
One conduit stands above all others in the crowded sporty car segment: The 2002 to 2009 Lexus SC, by virtue of its impressive attributes in the five POV
