March 2007 - Entry Level Luxury Car Sales

The ES/IS combo is dominating this segment for Lexus.

Dominating the segment? The ES350 is a dressed up Camry, literally. It's the same exact car, same shape, same chassis, same body panels, same interior design, same everything, just with a Lexus badge on the grill and nicer interior materials (and not even that much nicer anymore, the new Camry is nice inside). No one who would actually buy a 3-series, G35, IS, or anything even remotely sporty would buy an ES. It is targeted at women, old people, and people who dream of owning a Lexus (i.e. former Camry drivers who find themselves with extra money and want a nicer Camry than the other 30 Camrys in their neighborhood). The Lexus that actually competes in the segment is the IS, and the fact that Infiniti sold 50% more G35's than Lexus did IS's despite the IS being rated higher in pretty much every comparison should be cause for concern for Lexus.

funny it takes to models for lexus to have more sales than one single model from bmw...lol, with the is being the car that competes with the 3 series bmw sold twice as many 3's as the is, and how big is that gap. the 3 series sales account for the acura tl, the is, and the poor x type....good job lexus for making a wannabe 3 series thats still losing the sales race, not to mention everything else

one coupes and convertibles are niche vehicles they "typically" sell in small numbers, how many coupes do you see out there luxury or non luxury, not that many there is reason for that there sales numbers normally start well and just fall off which is why production has stopped on many, and more are soon to stop, that is a big excuse to say thats the reason why the 3 is selling, the more models simply divide the sales. the es is by no means competitor to the 3 series, it is a competitor (or it would like to be) for the person looking at the low end 5, e, gs, but are on an is budget, or someone that would otherwise be driving an avalon or buick.EXCUSES aside the 3 series is the better car, and sales prove it, as do MANY other things. not just that but the 3 series and c class are the MOST expensive cars in there class, thousands more people a month/year feel there hard earned money (thousands more dollars than the competition) should go to the 3 series.....better luck next time with the is....and by the way if entry level luxury sales bother you so much you have to result to name calling, seek proffesional help...

ok what was the point of doing that anyone can make a long list for one the models you listed replaced each other thats like making a list of everything mercedes and than again for the engine swaps, and model name change poor excuse , for how many YEARS has the 3 series been the best, and the best selling car in its class, the 3 series is the reason there is a cheap looking is, an a4, a g35, a sportier looking tl, and the x type that doesnt sell, the 3 series is hands down the best car in its class as is the 5 series, thats pretty sad the only thing these crazy lexus guys can say in defense to any car is uhm the maintenance or reliability, there are plenty of people that repeat buy bmw's im one of them, thats another reason the sales are so high, with so much competition out there now if they were so awful there are plenty of cars, or bmw copies, to choose from, but thats not what people are doing. they are spending thousands 8-10,000 a comparably equipped tl, or g35 to buy the 3 series. so what is your point.....that if bmw cant be beat in something create excuses that makes no sense to prove nothing., the people "that actually buy these cars" voted on the best, go back and look at the sales numbers. its the 3 series by far

Way to go Jaguar

G35 continues to impress.

Infiniti is definitely on a roll. The M3 was mentioned. The M3 is not in the entry level luxury class and should not be considered.

Obviously, you have never sat in a Camry or a ES350.

I'm afraid david999 is right. BMW may have a single-model success in numbers, but Lexus pulls ahead brand-wise: 12,000+ to BMW's 11,000 odd.
Also- the front drive ES is priced higher than the entry level G35, so fwd vs rwd doesn't seem to make a difference.
I drove the ES- Lesus has dialled down torque steer to nothing- and on California's freeways there's not much steering feel you need as long as the potholes/ ridges get filtered out.
But to drive the new G- now that's DRIVING. A certain purity to the rwd experience that Lexus ES owners will never know (or want to).

MKZ is doing okay

MKZ is doing okay consider the name (mfg) it has to deal with the car itself is pretty nice and even the Linclon dealers are pretty good, i think the machine deserves a look when shopping in this segment.

"The ES is a Camry!"

lol

I wonder if there's anyone left in the world that doesn't know that the ES and Camry share a chassis?

I'v been saying this for a long time: Kill the X-type. Kill it, tear it asunder, and send its peices to the four corners of the earth. That abomination should never have been created.

The ES/IS combo is doing great things for Lexus. Its letting buyers choose between sport and luxury while still paying the same price. This is brining in consumers of different ages and allowing them to sell cars. Also anyone can tell an ES 350 is much more distinguishable than a Camry, even though they appear similar. (sounds like and oxymoron but its not)

*This is bringing in consumers of different ages and allowing Lexus to sell more cars

(sorry for the type-o)

I'm pretty sure the ES is more. It's like $42K or something, compared to $31-35K for the IS.

The ES is not more.

Ah, I stand corrected. IS is $30-35K, while ES is $33K. Somehow I got the notion that it was $42K.

the stratgey works. It is Lexus's unique spin on this market. It is why IS sales will never match 3 sales, but that is fine with Lexus. When the IS came out, Lexus was clear. They have a 2 car entry strategy. German fanboys will never accept it, but meanwhile, month after month, the 2 cars will be the combined sales winner every time.

If Lexus gave up on the E (as Infiniti did with its I30), many ES buyers would choose anothe Lexus produce, presumably the IS. many othes would leave the brand altogether. So Lexus is not going to guve them up. They are entry level lux buyers, and every mfr would kill to get those huge numbers month after month, no matter which vehicle they are buying.

(BTW, as far as counting sales go, I have no problem when Merc fans add E and CLS numbers, or when Acura fans ad up TSX, RSX and TL. you can have more than one car in a class. Just look at GM. Silverado and Sierra combined would beat F150 every month, but looking at the raw numbers shows an F150 win each time. But who sold more trucks, GM or Ford?)

exactly.

how many buyers get a 3er mainly for the image, but don't REALLY appreciate its sporty character? they may find they want more lux than sport.

so next time around, they go to an MB store. OR a lexus store, where they can make a choice more suited to what they REALLY want.
OR, they may go directly to the lexus store to begin with.

lexusrep mentioned having worked for both bmw and lexus. commented he observed MANY 1st time buyers switching out of both bmw and mb after the novelty wore off, and going to lexus. and on the other hand, he had hardly seen ANY buyers going the other way TO bmw.

and, contrary to the thinking of the german fanboys, magic feel is NOT the end all and be all goal of buyers in this class.

the fact that the ES finds 50% more buyers than the IS proves it.

Not every car enthusiast is new at owning and driving a car. Believe it or not, there are a greater number of car enthusiasts who have passed that time of experience than those who still exist in their early years of enthusiasm.

For those who want to own and drive a high-power car bursting with sport’s car performance and road-hugging handling, don’t buy a Lexus ES350. Instead, buy a car you will be happy with such as a Porsche, BMW or Infiniti M. However, if you no longer are stimulated by an adrenalin rush to take a corner at high speed and then fly down the highway accelerating to red-line, look no further than the ES350.

The ES350 is an automobile rich in comfort, stylish in design, lavishly appointed and fully featured with advanced safety and technical features. In other words, it is a car for those who have matured beyond the age of youthful exuberance and want to be enveloped in a cocoon of luxury when they drive.

This persona does not mean that the ES350 is underpowered or sluggish. To the contrary, its V6 engine quickly propels the car from a full stop, cruises at highway speeds without effort and thrusts to pass on the interstate with gusto when peddled to the floor. It does all of these things quietly, with stability and exquisite smoothness.

Although it is not an automobile that stimulates the visceral senses, the ES350 is an automobile for those who want to possess a car of comfort and ambiance; a true luxury car at a reasonable cost.

This low cost is a direct result of the ES350 and the Toyota Camry being the recipients of a similar basic design and engineering. Don’t be fooled thinking that the Lexus is a fluffed-up Camry. It isn’t. It is a far different car whose features and characteristics were built to appeal to an entirely different segment of the buying public. This engineering technique has been successfully employed in many other fields including aviation.

The design, engineering, features, attributes and cost of the ES350 make it a fabulous buy with in its class. I should know because I am well pleased to own one.