From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20111028/...#ixzz1c7H2jGXz

Lexus to see increase in sales in 2012

David Shepardson/ Detroit News Washington Bureau

Washington — Toyota Motor Corp.'s luxury brand Lexus isn't aiming to recapture the sales crown in the United States that it will lose this year — after holding it since 2000.
Mark Templin, group vice president and general manager of the U.S. Lexus division, told reporters at a lunch in Washington on Friday that the company will see "a pretty sizable increase" in 2012 in sales — as Lexus introduces nine or 10 new or refreshed models.
"We never were about being the biggest - it just happened for all the right reasons," Templin said.
The company's sales were hampered by a lack of supply as a result the March earthquakes and tsunami in Japan.
"Because we (didn't) have any cars, we lost more people than we typically would because we didn't have anything to sell them," Templin said, saying the company agreed to allow many customers to extend leases by a year. "But there's a certain percentage of people that aren't willing to wait."
In fact, Lexus may never regain the lead in overall sales, Templin said.
He noted that Lexus won't need to build small "A" and "B" segment vehicles to meet new corporate average fuel economy standards — because of Toyota's fuel efficient models.
"If you look at it realistically, I think you're going to see a big chance in the luxury car industry over the next 10 years," he said.
Other luxury makers may have to build large volumes of smaller vehicles to meet the requirements — meaning Lexus may not regain the title by choice.
"Unfortunately in the U.S. right now, there's not a lot of consumer demand for really small cars," Templin said.
Asked how Lexus will meet the new fuel economy standards of 54.5 mpg by 2025. "In our case, we get there by selling a whole bunch of Prius," he said. "We can sell what customers are asking us for."
He said consumers aren't clamoring for luxury small cars — and he noted they aren't very profitable. Templin said in the long term if Lexus doesn't build very small cars it will "probably not" be the largest luxury brand in the United States.
"That's not important to us," Templin said, saying they'd rather be first in quality, value, customer experience and profitability.
Templin noted that many of Lexus models had been at the end of their lifecycle - and that 2012 will be a big year.
"It's going to be a really intensive launch year for us," Templin said. "Those products are coming with really exciting stuff… Everything is more focused on driving dynamics."
He said the new Lexus models will have dramatically improved interiors, big styling changes and he predicted the company will "leapfrog" the industry with its new advanced electronics.
Lexus sales are off 17 percent this year to 135,647 through September, twice as much as the Toyota division's 8.2 percent decline this year.
Templin wants to sell more hybrids in the United States, where about 15 percent of Lexus sales are hybrids — and 85 percent are traditional gasoline-engine powered. In Japan and Europe, about 85 percent of its sales are hybrids.
"We still dream about having hybrids in all of cars across the lineup," Templin said, declining to say if Lexus would make hybrid versions for all of its vehicles. "We really do think it's the technology of the future."
He said Lexus will be bring more hybrids to the U.S. market. He said Lexus is "capable" of building a plug-in-hybrid, noting Toyota will launch a plug-in Prius next year.
Templin said the company predicts that the luxury segment in U.S. market will bump from about 11 percent this year to 12 percent in 2012. "That bodes well for those of us in the luxury segment," he said.
He said many kids have grown up in very good economic times — with more luxury goods used by the masses — with Sub-Zero refrigerators and Viking appliances. He noted the trend "that people would rather buy premium and keep it a little longer."
Templin said market share for the top luxury players will decline as new luxury companies — like Fisker Automotive and Hyundai Motor Co. take sales — as well as a "resurgence" from Cadillac and Audi.
"There's going to be a lot of good players that are going to take a little piece of the pie," he said.
Lexus has been holding a series of dinners at customers' homes — including San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, New York and Washington, D.C. - including one tonight.
The company asked the 30,000 members of its volunteer "Lexus advisory board" to host the dinner for 20 or so people prepared by a celebrity chef. Not all of the people attending are Lexus owners - and it gives Lexus a chance to tout its brand.

dshepardson@detnews.com
(202) 662-8735

 

9?
- GS
- RX facelift
- ES
- CX?
- LS?
- IS?
- LX facelift?
- GX facelift?


:-)

 

do the special editions count as a separate model? If so, we already know of the:

CT- F sport
CT- F sport Limited Edition
ES- Limited Edition
LS- Limited Edition
GS
GS- F sport
GS-h

Im going to guess LX, GX, and refreshes

 

"He said the new Lexus models will have dramatically improved interiors, big styling changes and he predicted the company will "leapfrog" the industry with its new advanced electronics."

Sounds good to me!

 

Here is my guess:

1. GS350
2. GS450h
3. ES350
4. ES300h
5. RX350 mmc
6. RX450h mmc
7. GX460 mmc
8. HS mmc
9. Compact SUV based on Euro RAV4

 

Well of course they will increase because of the significant supply issues from the tsunami this year, LOL!

 

It's time for a new IS Lexus! lol

 

Considering how bad this year was, I would expect sales to go up

Hey Mark, what about that V-8 GS?

 

I will be an interesting approach to downplay sales numbers in favor of Lexus' Mission Statement.

I also am in favor for keeping Lexus more "upscale". If Lexus makes a sub-$30k A or B segment vehicle, it will surely be compared to a sub-$30k Toyota model that is bigger and faster, albeit less luxurious.

If Lexus keeps its cars more desirable and special, without bastardizing the brand, it may keep the nameplate more niche. Not a bad thing imagewise, but no #1 sales position. Profitable, but not #1.

 

To be fair, even for the last ten years, Lexus never made a huge deal about being #1 in sales. I recall a few "America's best selling luxury brand" references in advertising, but in the press, comments about sales volume were ALWAYS dealt with humbly and referenced their goal to build the best cars, not to sell the most cars.

 

This is true. They have always stated "We don't aim for #1 but if we get it then thats fine. The Germans contrarily have openly stated they want #1 and will do what it takes to get there.

We know now luxury is really blurred in regards to many luxury brands. A CT, A class, 1 series, A3, etc all blur the line in hopes of adding sales.

 

The HS might not be continuing any longer...

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/hs-...or-the-us.html

 

+1 Very TRUE! Never really seen commercials where they bragged about being number 1 in sales like other brands! PLUS when I bought my IS300 and ISF they never once mentioned being number 1 in sales.

Only thing they mentioned was resale value, reliability and provided the BEST customer service. I was actually going to buy an ISF from Century BMW in SoCal but they didn't communicate with me so I bought mine from Lexus of Germain in Columbus Ohio. A salesman name Aso helped me with mine ISF and he sent me over 100 emails and took 2-3 months to help me out since I was in Saudi Arabia working!

By 2 Months into it Lexus of Westminster lowered there ISF from $49k to 42.5k and I was going to buy it from them but decided to stick with the one in Ohio since they showed me respect and TRUE SERVICE!

NOW THAT'S LEXUS CUSTOMER SERVICE.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOHA61QRtfI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUcE0Lv2RuU&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmf2V...feature=relmfu

For the record I hate those commercials, and the voice over guy.

 

Lexus Marketing Chief: No Entry-Level Cars Needed for Sales Comeback

Premium cars priced below $30,000 are coming back. Last year Buick introduced the Verano, a smallish sedan that's based off the Chevrolet Cruze and starts under $23,000. Acura followed with the ILX, which shares underpinnings with the Honda Civic and will start "well below $30,000" when it hits dealerships this spring. Mercedes is still on track to roll out a family of compact cars stateside.

Toyota's Lexus division wants none of it. Lexus has just one car below the $30,000 mark, the pint-sized CT 200h hybrid, and it sells well enough. But the automaker wants none of the near-luxury pie, said Brian Smith, marketing vice president.

"I don't think [entry-luxury] is a focus of ours right now," Smith said. "Other manufacturers have a reason for going there. Some might be customer demand; some might be government regulation" — a reference to the federal government's corporate average fuel economy program. Lexus has Toyota and Scion to balance the lower mileage of its luxury cars; BMW and Mercedes, on the other hand, lack mass-market U.S. divisions.

Different Focus
Instead, Smith is focusing on other products, like the redesigned GS.

"We've learned over the years 1 of the worst things for a great launch is trickling out the product," Smith said. "And in this case, the remaining inventory of the previous-generation [GS] is virtually gone. There's no reason to worry about a sell-down. We just opened up the factory to produce as much as possible. We're probably going to get well over 1,000 [cars] retailed this month."

Still, Cars.com has just 752 redesigned GS models in its national new-car inventory — far less than the BMW 5 Series sedan (more than 5,000) and Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan (3,305).

That could change as the flagship GS 450h hybrid arrives. It's about 90 days out, Smith said at this month's Chicago Auto Show.

Regaining the Crown
Last year's Japan earthquake stymied Lexus supplies, which fell below BMW and Mercedes inventory six out of the nine full months that followed the March 11 trembler, according to Automotive News data. Lexus sales fell 13% for the year, ultimately losing the brand's U.S. luxury sales crown — something Lexus had for 11 years — to both German rivals.

Will Lexus regain the title? Smith doesn't know, but he's optimistic.

"We're well on our way to recovery," Smith said. "It will be difficult to say where we're going to end up ... [but] we have a game plan to be the fastest-growing luxury brand."

Lexus will accomplish that this year with nine new or redesigned cars, including the GS, plus three F-Sport packages. The division is responsible for nearly half of the 19 new or redesigned cars coming in 2012 from parent company Toyota, which includes the youth-oriented Scion brand.

1 of them could be a cousin to the RX SUV, still the second-bestselling luxury car in 2011. Since the first-gen RX arrived some 14 years ago, competitors have fielded SUV after SUV to knock it off its perch, something Lexus' own marketing relishes. With related segments emerging around it — from the mini-SUV Buick Encore to 3-row players like the Acura MDX and Buick Enclave — Lexus has room to expand.

Will the brand introduce a baby- or plus-sized RX? Smith won't rule it out.

"There is room for that type of thing, [but] nothing that we can announce right now," he said. "I would love to see the RX family grow. We don't have specifics, but it's a very capable vehicle, and it's a broad section of the market."