Lexus Global Sales Continue to Raise the Bar
Despite Sagging U.S. Numbers, Lexus Global Sales Enjoy Fourth Straight Record Year
2016 might not have been a great year for Lexus in North American, but buyers in China and Europe can’t get enough of the luxury brand. Lexus global sales rose 4% in 2016, reaching a total of 677,00 vehicles sold. That number marks the fourth consecutive year of record unit sales for the automaker.
The biggest boost came from China, where sales grew a whopping 25%. Total vehicle sales there exploded to 110,000, which marks the first time Lexus has sold more than 100,000 vehicles in China. Sales in Europe were equally brisk, increasing by 17% to 74,000. Japan wasn’t too far behind, posting an 8% increase to 52,000 units.
Those robust sales figures helped offset a disappointing year in North America, where sales decreased 4% to 354,000 units. A combination of increasing competition and lower gas prices are driving U.S. buyers to SUV’s, a move that Lexus wasn’t fully prepared for. As we mentioned earlier this week, it took several months for Lexus to properly adjust dealer inventory to account for that shift in consumer demand.
But the demand for SUV’s isn’t isolated to just the United States. The RX and NX, in particular, are flying off dealer lots in Europe and Japan. And even in a crowded market, both fared exceptionally well domestically as well.
So even though things didn’t go as planned here in the states, Lexus can still hang its hat on yet another banner year. And the good new is, they are better prepared for 2017 after making some inventory adjustments to. The SUV craze isn’t going away anytime soon, and right now Lexus is making some really good ones.
