i would think it is mostly about largest incentives they ever offered :P

 

Is anyone worried that GS sales seem to be slipping? They came out of the gate strong with 2,400-2,600 sales for the first two months and are now below 2,000 units. I know that an initial surge of sales is expected with a new car but I am surprised to see sales fall off that quickly, especially with the GS 450h now available. They are 562 units off from just two months ago...

February: 2,396
March: 2,558
April: 2,006
May: 1,996

Thoughts?

 

It worries me, but it's too early to tell anything. I think after its first 6 months, we can have a better judgment. As it is, the downward trend suggests they're not gaining the conquests that they were hoping for. I think the lack of marketing is having an effect on the sales.

 

I think advertising and marketing is a big part of it.

The first set of commercials focused more on the "new face of Lexus" than the new GS itself. The only one that really spoke to the car was the "technology" ad where "anything not moving forward is moving backwards". Even then, it left no lasting impression.

Let's see some shots of the interior, of the F Sport rounding a road coarse ahead of a 535i and E350. Let's see some of the quotes from MotorTrend's article comparing it to it's rivals. Let's talk about weight reduction and engineering - why is this GS better than the last one? Lexus just has to be more aggressive here - they have to be more direct, smarter and harder. This is a very competitive segment and the same old "foo-foo, technology, night shot while driving with the headlights on" type of commercial just won't work.

Not to mention, GSh needs a totally separate campaign and they need to knock that out of the park.

 

Lexus only sold 1000 fewer RX's than Toyota sold Highlanders. That's pretty amazing.

 

if i were in market to buy a Lexus, i will just skip GS and get the new ES. the design language of the ES is just too good.
i think even Lexus admit the GS was an afterthought (i think i read it somewhere). sure the GS is RWD and ES is FWD and they target at different audience, but come on.. people cross shop car all the time.

 

From the guy that defends the P.O.S Acura ILX....this is gold A driving enthusiast would easily pick the GS over the ES, its for people that actually know about cars. The ES will always be the volume Lexus sedan.

 

10 Best Selling Vehicles in May 2012

May marked the return of the post-tsunami Japanese auto industry in general, but nowhere was that better represented than in the Toyota Camry.

Toyota sold just shy of 40,000 Camrys last month, besting its closest rival by almost 8,000 units. Of course, many midsize and compact non-premium sedans are regularly snapped up by fleets – primarily rental, corporate and government buyers – so this list doesn’t always paint the best picture of what vehicles are most likely to wind up in your neighbors’ driveways.

All of the top 10 saw improved volume compared to the year before, especially the Toyota and Honda models.

Otherwise, May was mostly a Who’s Who of regulars to this list. Just missing the top 10 were the Ford Focus (24,769), Ford Escape (23,077), Nissan Altima (22,690), Toyota Prius (21,477 including all variants) and the Hyundai Sonata (20,765).

The month’s best-selling European car was the Volkswagen Jetta, which was down 9% to 15,175.

The 10 best-selling vehicles of May 2012
1. Ford F-Series 54,836
2. Toyota Camry 39,571
3. Chevrolet Silverado 34,555
4. Honda Civic 33,490
5. Toyota Corolla (includes Matrix) 31,847
6. Honda Accord 29,737
7. Chevrolet Malibu 29,579
8. Ford Fusion 26,857
9. Ram Pickup 26,040
10. Honda CR-V 25,186

 

that's part of it, but i think there's a much, much bigger problem. lexus simply doesn't make or dealers stock enough variety when a consumer goes to shop and their options/packaging are so rigid and custom ordering takes so long that i think a lot of 'enthusiasts' get a bad taste and go elsewhere (cough, bmw, audi, mercedes, cough).

if i'm spending 60 large on a car, i want what i want, dammit!

another issue is the small number of dealers. i think there's what, 210 u.s. dealers? so if lexus sells 2100 gs in a month that's 10 per dealer on average, or about one every 2 1/2 days, and that's actually pretty decent for a car that's purposely positioned as kind of a niche vehicle because lexus has the es as well.

so maybe we expect too much in some ways, because, as has been stated a lot before, lexus has the two model approach (vs. 1 with lots of flavors for competitors).

 

i notice honda still has 3 in the top 10, so for all the 'sky is falling' posts about them, they ain't doin' too bad.

 

Great points

I have commented, over the years, about how Lexus salespeople are almost predetermined to sell ES and RX over IS, GS, GX, anything else. Why? That's what they stock and have most of so they're the easiest to sell. It's almost a vicious cycle and cars like the GS get relegated to a back parking lot somewhere.

 

yes... and new Accord is coming out too.

Also to note - Honda incentives are pretty low and $1k lower than Ford, $2k lower than GM.
$1.2k less than MB and BMW on average, and they should be luxury brands!

Lexus incentives are on average probably 3x less than BMW and MB right now.

 

, i guess if there is one thing i did right, it was to let you remember what i commented in the past and have you felt the need to mention it.

anyways, we are not sure about P.O.S. of ILX or whatever, it won't hurt to wait for a month to see how it does. the HS, sadly, is about to get axed no matter how great it is.

back to the Lexus stuff, while it is entirely true that there are people who choose GS over ES because they like the RWD vs FWD, those are really the minority. for a daily driver, there is no difference. there is no mountain road to let you take advantage of the perfectly balanced driving machine unless you own a mountain. look at the FR-S, one of the best handling car you can buy, sold 86 copies, HALF of the ILX which only had about 1 week of selling days. i guess in your mind this could never be possible as: 1. FR-S looks nicer than ILX (subjective), 2. FR-S has more HP than ILX, 3 FR-S handles much better than ILX. 4. FR-S has more selling days than ILX. go figure.

i am just commenting on the style, and i think the ES looks damn impressive, it looks very much like the current LS which is a great thing.

 

spwolf, where do you get all the incentive info?

 

US Auto Incentives Up 3.9%

Average U.S. per-vehicle incentives from auto makers increased 3.9% in May after hitting a near-7-year low in the prior month, according to car-shopping website Edmunds.com.

Edmunds.com reported the average true cost of incentives per vehicle was $2,135, up from $2,055 in April and up 0.6% from $2,122 a year earlier.

"It's likely that incentives will continue a slow but steady rise in the coming months," said Edmunds Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell. "There will be bigger discounts available on 2012 models through the summer to help dealers clear the way for incoming 2013 models. In fact, 2013 models already account for about 6.5% of new car sales."

U.S. auto maker Ford Motor Co. F -0.79% reported the biggest month-over-month increase in incentives, up 9.3%. Japanese auto maker Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY, 7201.TO) posted the 2nd-highest month-to-month increase in incentive spending, with a 9% increase. Edmunds.com said both Ford and Nissan's increases are corrective measures after the 2 auto makers slashed incentive spending in April and suffered hits to their market shares as a result.

Incentive spending at Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors Co. GM -4.04% rose 1.3% and 2.3%, respectively. Toyota Motor Corp. (TM, 7203.TO) reported a 6.1% sequential increase.

Honda Motor Co. (HMC, 7267.TO) was the only auto maker to see a sequential decline incentive spending, reporting a 1.3% decrease.

Edmunds.com's monthly incentives report takes into account all auto makers' various U.S. incentives programs and bases its calculations on sales volume as well as the proportion of vehicles for which each type of incentive was used.

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Average True Cost of Incentives® (TCISM) by Car Manufacturer
Manufacturer     May-12     Apr-12     May-11     May 2012 vs Apr 2012     May 2012 vs May 2011
Chrysler     $2,567     $2,535     $2,400     1.3%     7.0%
Ford     $2,594     $2,373     $2,475     9.3%     4.8%
GM     $3,417     $3,339     $3,245     2.3%     5.3%
Honda     $1,207     $1,223     $983     -1.3%     22.8%
Nissan     $2,260     $2,073     $2,221     9.0%     1.8%
Toyota     $1,458     $1,374     $1,250     6.1%     16.6%
Industry     $2,135     $2,055     $2,122     3.9%     0.6%