Lexus pushing upmarket as others move down, LF-LC production hinted
12-10-13, 03:12 PM
#1
Lexus pushing upmarket as others move down, LF-LC production hinted
Lexus pushing upmarket as others move down, LF-LC production hinted
Jeff Bracken, Lexus' US group vice president and general manager, knows his company lost its position as America's biggest luxury brand back in 2011, and it's a mantle that his employer probably won't be getting back any time soon. That's because Lexus is electing not to follow the luxury segment's downmarket trend any more than its $32,500 CT 200h hybrid hatchback. "Since we won't be going down below $30,000, it will be very difficult for us to ever regain luxury leadership," Bracken admitted on Autoline After Hours late last week.
Rivals Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi all have new low-end entries on sale or in the wings to entice new buyers and fortify their CAFE scores, but Lexus has Toyota and Scion to capture sales underneath its lineup. Instead, Bracken hints that Lexus is going upmarket and higher-performance, fueling ongoing rumors of a LFA successor, or perhaps a new offering based on the lauded 2012 LF-LC coupe concept shown above, a production version of which could also slot in where the unloved SC convertible left off. "We need to begin bringing to market luxury performance... higher performance vehicles. IS-F certainly was the beginning of that, maybe on the lower end," says Bracken.
Later in the online video interview show, Bracken gets even more candid:
We've revealed the LF-CC now as an RC, right? Do you like the styling? So we feel the same way, and that would be a great example of Akio's thumbprint on where he's trying to take the company as it relates to beautiful styling. IS, RC, and hopefully these concepts you've become familiar with will ultimately make it to production."
The "Akio" in the quote above is, of course, CEO Akio Toyoda, who has made injecting emotion into the way his family's companies vehicles drive and look a top priority.
To that same end, earlier today, Lexus announced plans to reveal an unnamed new F-branded performance model at next month's Detroit Auto Show, but it isn't going exclusively top-shelf with future products – a compact crossover based on the LF-NX showcar is expected to slot in underneath its hugely successful RX CUV, bringing along with it a new turbocharged four-cylinder (an engine also expected shortly in the new IS sedan).
Lexus has not diversified its alternative fuel powertrains as much as its key rivals, most of which now offer both diesel and hybrid variants in at least one or two key models. On this subject, Bracken remains pessimistic, saying, "We have elected at this point not to head down the diesel path," while also saying that Lexus has no near-term plans for a plug-in model, nor any firm plans for a bi-fuel compressed natural gas offering.
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/12/09/l...-hinted-video/
12-10-13, 03:48 PM
#3
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
).lexus has toyota's vast numbers to rely on, so they could sell cars rolls-royce if they wanted to.
to me the interesting other player here is audi, because they have vw's vast numbers to rely on for cafe too, and audi's obviously been gaining ground in the past couple of years.
anyway, i'm also glad lexus isn't going down market. just today i saw an hs250 in town and just smh... it should never have been made. the ct is interesting but i think the nx sales will trounce it.
12-10-13, 06:59 PM
#5
Guest
Posts: n/a
Didn't hear it from me but the CLA is big for sales but a lot of salespeople hate the car since margins are low ($800 or so) so commissions are low. People intentionally skip their turn to avoid the customers interested in it. The CLAs customers used to own BMW, Honda, Toyota.
On the other end the car can hit 35k and 40k quite easy and it's simply a hot car.
On the other end the car can hit 35k and 40k quite easy and it's simply a hot car.
12-10-13, 08:14 PM
#6
Lead Lap
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: CA
Posts: 717
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
This is great news. I'm glad they're keenly aware that up market, higher performance "mini-halo" cars (or even bonafide halo cars like an LFA II) are an absolutely necessity for fostering positive brand image - poor sales be damned.
Mercedes probably sells a whopping 50 S65 AMGs in any given year (I just made that number up, but I'm sure it's absurdly low). It doesn't matter. It elevates the AMG brand name overall and attracts buyers to a C63AMG, for example, or even a C350 with "AMG sports package," as cringe-worthy as that may appear to purists.
Mercedes probably sells a whopping 50 S65 AMGs in any given year (I just made that number up, but I'm sure it's absurdly low). It doesn't matter. It elevates the AMG brand name overall and attracts buyers to a C63AMG, for example, or even a C350 with "AMG sports package," as cringe-worthy as that may appear to purists.
Trending Topics
12-12-13, 10:18 AM
#13
Although not initially a fan of the CT, I have grown to enjoy it's attributes every time I drive one. The handling, mileage and usabliity are great as is the tech (though a noticable ommission with the 2014 model is still no available Blind Spot Monitor 
). But the CT is not a Luxury car, and simply borderline upscale/premium. Plenty of hard plastics though many are noticeably less "rough" than the IS and ES. It'd have been nice if they used the nicer window switches from the IS, GS, HS, RX and GX but they used the ones on the ES or rather the ES used the ones on the CT. I won't completely discredit the CT though because it does have potential as does the A3 to improve quality. The addition of new powertrains or even drivetrains would help the CT integrate better into the Lexus Line. One major part of Luxury is customization which helps tailor a vehicle better to the buyer. Lexus could learn from BMW and Porsche. More options, more choices, buyer responds more positively 
). But the CT is not a Luxury car, and simply borderline upscale/premium. Plenty of hard plastics though many are noticeably less "rough" than the IS and ES. It'd have been nice if they used the nicer window switches from the IS, GS, HS, RX and GX but they used the ones on the ES or rather the ES used the ones on the CT. I won't completely discredit the CT though because it does have potential as does the A3 to improve quality. The addition of new powertrains or even drivetrains would help the CT integrate better into the Lexus Line. One major part of Luxury is customization which helps tailor a vehicle better to the buyer. Lexus could learn from BMW and Porsche. More options, more choices, buyer responds more positively
12-12-13, 10:35 AM
#14
Although not initially a fan of the CT, I have grown to enjoy it's attributes every time I drive one. The handling, mileage and usabliity are great as is the tech (though a noticable ommission with the 2014 model is still no available Blind Spot Monitor ). But the CT is not a Luxury car, and simply borderline upscale/premium. Plenty of hard plastics though many are noticeably less "rough" than the IS and ES. It'd have been nice if they used the nicer window switches from the IS, GS, HS, RX and GX but they used the ones on the ES or rather the ES used the ones on the CT. I won't completely discredit the CT though because it does have potential as does the A3 to improve quality. The addition of new powertrains or even drivetrains would help the CT integrate better into the Lexus Line. One major part of Luxury is customization which helps tailor a vehicle better to the buyer. Lexus could learn from BMW and Porsche. More options, more choices, buyer responds more positively
). But the CT is not a Luxury car, and simply borderline upscale/premium. Plenty of hard plastics though many are noticeably less "rough" than the IS and ES. It'd have been nice if they used the nicer window switches from the IS, GS, HS, RX and GX but they used the ones on the ES or rather the ES used the ones on the CT. I won't completely discredit the CT though because it does have potential as does the A3 to improve quality. The addition of new powertrains or even drivetrains would help the CT integrate better into the Lexus Line. One major part of Luxury is customization which helps tailor a vehicle better to the buyer. Lexus could learn from BMW and Porsche. More options, more choices, buyer responds more positively 