Lexus expects to sell more LS 600h hybrids in Europe

Yeah we buy more Lexus hybrids than the regular versions - the GS300/430 and RX350 barely sell.

A pity then that Dodge has increased its European sales by 18000% in the UK.

I tried to look it up, but interestingly, there was no direct link to Lexus sales numbers.

cutie, I'd like to see the link where you got your number from.

cuties numbers are wrong. either way, 'fastest growing' doesn't mean much when starting from a tiny base. let's talk unit sales.

its no surprise than the IS brochure features Berlin in it.

On every leaflet we get here of a Lexus, it ALWAYS has German license plates on it. Why? well .. you already now the answer do you?

im just saying lexus is trying to gain more attention with Europeans. That is why they kiss Berlins but in the brochure and compliment the city like its the queen.

HMMmm... In America, they all have body-color generic number plates. On the Japanese website, they all have Japanese plates. Nitpicking is what Lexus naysayers do best!

You're hilarious. The reason why they put (not only Lexus for that matter, Alfa Romeo and many others do it too) German license plates on the cars shown in brochures is because it makes a better impression, more prestige and if it's good enough for Germans than it must be good for me too, right?

Oh is that the reason? Thanks for that totally unbiased analysis from a true neutral auto fan.

yes, the US brochure features berlin.
a bit of a desperate attempt to say that lexus is as good as a german car.

Lexus is growing very fast in europe the germans are gonna have big problem in a few years.

im a lexus guy but i do not think so.

nutjob

Someone please tell me how Lexus expects to sell more LS600h's in Europe when buyers can choose the cheaper S320 CDI, 730d and A8 3.0 TDI? It doesn't make sense.

Lexus is barely a blip overthere and the LS600h won't be selling in large numbers there anytime soon. Also, outside the urban environment, the LS600h is a gas guzzler. The Autobild S600 vs LS600h test proved that.

1) Oh my god it has a leather dashboard! How special. I also like the wood that come from plastic trees and the pseudo-aluminum that is actually grey shiny plastic..
2) AWD... BMW has xDrive, Mercedes-Benz has 4Matic and Audi has quattro
3) Better fuel economy? ... NOT! Any Audi 3.0 TDI (especially with the awesome Multitronic) /4.2 TDI, any BMW 730d/745d or any S320 CDI/S420 CDI will EASILY be more economical. The V8 diesels will outperform it too.

Now.. you were saying?

Because Lexus tuned the car for fuel economy, the LS600h only does 0-62 in 6.3 seconds, which is, in a word, slow. All the cars Sevorbeupstry mentioned get better fuel economy.
And an LS600h is roughly 60000 (yes sixty thousand) dollars more than an S320cdi in Britain.
The A8 4.2 tdi, its chief rival, does 0-62 in about 5.8 seconds, and gets better fuel economy of 25 US combined, and on the highway, 33 US mpg.
Added to that it costs 20000 dollars less here, so why buy the Lexus? A leather dashboard, which is an option on the A8?
The only thing the Lexus just wins on is CO2 emissions, which are about 20g/km lower than the 4 litre + models I mentioned, but worse than the BMW 730d, A8 3.0 tdi and the S320cdi.
All the 3 litre diesel models get around 28 US combined mpg, and around 37 US mpg on the highway.

toyotaman you embarrase us lexus fans. quit making us look so bad.
do your dad own a ls hybrid now? i thought it wasn't even on sale yet.

I would like to know Toyotaman's age.

toyotaman:

a leather dashboard and better fuel economy are reasons to buy a $100K+ car? LOL

guys:
toyotaman is a joker. he said his dad drives an LS600h. the car won't be on the market until august....

just ignore him.

what are you talking about buck?

"If these diesels are so great, why does MB/BMW/Audi still sell gas versions?"
That's a ridiculous thing to say and you know it.
They offer gas because surprise surprise some people want gas engines.
If the Camry hybrid is so good why do they offer normal versions? And if the Prius is so great why bother making any other cars at all?

The LS600h's times in Europe are slower because they have tuned the car for better highway fuel economy. They probably changed the final drive ratio, so here the LS gets 26 US combined, but as a result, is slower.
For me, and the majority of people who buy this sort of car, the diesel versions are better.

"If these diesels are so great, why does MB/BMW/Audi still sell gas versions?"

If hybrids are so great, why does Lexus still sell gas versions?

WTF?

And, about that 750i quote- Edmunds sucks for 0-60 and you know it. They were the ones that got about six seconds for the LS600hL. The 750i is quoted by BMW at 5.8 seconds. The only fast time I've seen out of Edmunds was in their 335i coupe, which just tells me they're terribly inconsistent.

if hybrids are so great, why are 95% of lexus/toyota cars still gasoline?

fully 65% of BMWs sold in europe are diesels.

sales speak volumes despite your commentary.

At least it is a normal looking car that drives normal and nobody has to know you are environmentalist freak.

huu76, why do you compare a hybrid to a non-hybrid? Just wait when the Germans have finished their diesel-hybrids. That would be fair competition.

No surprise here. I guess some people have hard time accepting that... until they drive a diesel..

An Audi 4.2 V8 TDI has SPECTACULAR acceleration!

Quicker than the 4.2 petrol thanks to the low down torque. Same deal with the Q7, the 4.2 tdi is quicker than the 4.2 fsi.

The difference between the Q7 petrol V8 and diesel V8 is just staggering.

The diesel has a slightly lower topspeed but accelerates more than a FULL second quicker to 60 mph, not to mention in-gear performance when you have 760 Nm on tap...

I drove the V8 TDI a couple of times already (mostly a s a replacement car for when my A8 petrol is in the shop for maintaince) and it responds much quicker on throttle input! amazing really. And it's actually quieter on the autobahn as well. It just doesn't make a good sound and it doesn't rev as smoothly..

The sound isn't as good, but it's pretty good.
I heard an A8 4.2 tdi accelerate reasonably quickly, turbo whistle, plus V8 growl and a little diesel rumble (not clatter though), sounded great.
Same deal with an Ml420cdi, very bassy, and actually sounds more powerful at low revs thanks to base noise.

Considering diesel "technology" has been around for decades, and hybrid technology has only been around for approximately one decade, the apparent fact that hybrid sales are .3 million shy of diesel sales clearly shows more of a demise for diesels.

And it appears that yet again, people are not taking the LS600h for what it was intended to do. The "600h/Hybrid" badging is intended to become just as respectable as "600/V12 Biturbo" badging. And in the eco-conscious state the people on this planet are in right now, Lexus clearly knows exactly what they're doing.

You can argue performance is lacking because honestly, it does seem slower than I expected, but the LS600h was not meant to be a miracle worker, more or less it is meant to change people's perceptions of what "power" and "prestige" are. No longer is an extremely inefficient gas-guzzling V12 acceptable as a status symbol. In today's times, a "hybrid" badge gains you much more street cred and respect.

Back to the actual subject at hand, the bottom line here is that: the LS600h is selling...

...which is contrary to what most were saying here on this site.

"No longer is an extremely inefficient gas-guzzling V12 acceptable as a status symbol. In today's times, a "hybrid" badge gains you much more street cred and respect."

Something tells me that if some guy rolled up at the club in an S600, he would get more respect than a Prius-driver... or even an LS600hL-driver. Sorry, I crossed the "forbidden line" of "prestige."

Clearly, you don't watch television, or get out much. Celebrities arrived at the OSCARS in hybrid Lexus models.

The S-Class, and other cars of its caliber, gained acclaim through celebrities (yes, celebrities) being seen in them. With more and more celebrities going green, you should be very worried, for that indeed forbidden line is about to be painted over (in the color green of course). Green for the Earth, green for celebrities, green for Lexus after everyone spends their green on Lexus green, because of all the green celebrities...

hate to break it to you will, but wealthy people in this country could not care less what 'celebrities' are driving. in fact, most wealthly people are very down to earth and are really turned off by celebrity and publicity.

and all those cars you do see celebrities driving to the oscars...often given to them by the car company just to get some free PR.

That Hybrid badge is just that, a badge, a twenty cent sticker, and that should should change people's perception of 'respectable' and deserves comparisons to the worlds finest? I would agree IF there was REAL substance behind it..The 600h is hardly an eco friendly machine but the marketing is trying to sell it like it is a step above a bicycle....I find that to be insulting and further reinforces the image of a made up brand by a fantastic marketing group keen on product placement (celebrities/Oscars!!, leather handbags, and TV shows). From the guys that bring you the car that parks itself...gimmicks

oh really? the people i know driving an S600, S55AMG, S65AMG, 760i or A8 W12 drive them every day. it's often their day-to-day car. and then they have convertibles or sports cars for fun.

when you go to a really high end restaurant, what cars do they park in front? it is not a hybrid, not a prius. usually a aston martin, ferrari, high end prosche, bmw 6-series, bmw 7-series, mercedes cls or s-class or something else along those lines. Status is everything ...

www.lexus.jp: LS600h/hL 0-100km in 5.5s.

Gas for a S600 is enough to power TWO LS600hs.

and nobody who buys an S600 cares...most of them hardly know lexus exists.

just got an '08 535i. monaco blue with tan leather.

no...bugatti sells to a certain audience. as does lexus. the two just don't overlap all that much.

this "hybrid" gets 20MPG.
not going to fly in a european market accustomed to high mileage diesels.

in 15-20 years when they actually get great mileage....

S4cabriofoxone, here You can look up European sales numbers.
http://www.acea.be/statistics