Toyota Rises 1.4% in November Lexus Drops 7.0%

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), USA, Inc., today reported best-ever November sales of 197,189 vehicles, an increase of 0.3 percent over last November.

"Rising fuel prices and sliding home values delivered a one-two punch this month," said Jim Lentz, TMS executive vice president. "But the industry's not down for the count. Demand for fresh, more fuel-efficient products continues to show strength."

The Toyota Division posted best-ever November sales of 172,341, an increase of 1.4 percent over last November.

Toyota Division
Toyota Division passenger cars recorded best-ever November sales of 98,749 units, up 6.2 percent over last November. Passenger-car sales were led by Camry, which posted best-ever November sales of 35,409, an increase of 3.6 percent over the same period last year. Camry Hybrid reported sales of 5,118 units in November, up 65 percent over November 2006. The Prius hybrid gas-electric mid-size sedan posted best-ever November sales of 16,737, an increase of 109 percent over last November. Corolla reported November sales of 25,012 units.

Toyota Division light truck sales were down 4.4 percent, with November sales of 73,592 units. Light truck sales were led by the all-new Tundra full-size pickup with best-ever November sales of 14,988, an increase of 43.2 percent over the year-ago month. The RAV4 compact sport utility vehicle reported November sales of 12,354, up 8.1 percent over the same period last year. Highlander and Highlander Hybrid posted combined best-ever sales of 12,312 in November, up 10.9 percent over last November. The Highlander Hybrid gas-electric mid-size SUV reported sales of 2,577 units for the month.

Scion posted November sales of 9,619 units. The tC sports coupe led the way with November sales of 3,845 units. The xB urban utility vehicle posted November sales of 3,842 units, an increase of 10.4 percent over last November.

Lexus Division
Lexus passenger cars reported November sales of 14,892 units, a decrease of 7.8 percent from November 2006. Passenger-car sales were led by the ES 350 luxury sedan with November sales of 5,902 units. The IS 250/350 luxury sport sedan was up 6.9 percent with sales of 3,849. The LS 460/460 L and new LS 600h L luxury sedans reported combined sales of 2,668. The LS 600h L hybrid luxury sedan posted sales of 170 units for the month. The GS 350 luxury sport sedan had sales of 1,989, up 19.5 percent, while the GS 460/450h posted combined sales of 216, an increase of 10.2 percent.

Lexus Division light trucks reported November sales totaling 9,956 units, a decrease of 5.7 percent from the year-ago month. The RX 350 and RX 400h posted combined November sales of 8,038 units. The RX 400h hybrid luxury utility vehicle reported sales of 1,674 units for the month, an increase of 26 percent.

TMS Hybrids TMS calendar-year-to-date hybrid sales totaled 253,466 units, an increase of 45 percent over the same period last year. In November, TMS posted sales of 26,376 hybrid vehicles, up 85 percent over last November. Toyota Division posted sales of 24,432 hybrids, up 91 percent over November 2006. Lexus Division posted sales of 1,944 hybrids, an increase of 29 percent over last November.

There were 25 selling days this month and last November.

0to60 - 12/3/2007 3:45:07 PM

-1 Boost

uh oh, bring in the BMW fans, time to bash Lexus even more! I think this kind of news is what keeps you guys going!

EL34 - 12/3/2007 3:59:03 PM

+2 Boost

How in the world could Kexus drop so far.

The car industry is like a roller coaster :o

Agent009 - 12/3/2007 4:03:30 PM

+2 Boost

You just figuring that out?

enthusiastx11 - 12/3/2007 4:32:34 PM

+2 Boost

i would have thought SUVs were the cause of the decline given rising gas prices and the fact that the RX dominate lexus sales. but passenger cars are down more than SUV sales...7.8 percent. uh oh.

ThierryHenry14 - 12/3/2007 4:58:43 PM

+4 Boost

I think Lexus needs something more exciting to stir up their sales (something that is a large volume seller-excludes IS-F, for those who are thinking "exciting Lexus"). I think they need a SC replacement, and perhaps a smaller, less expensive roadster to try to compete in the Z4, SLK, and TT range.

AdmiralT20 - 12/3/2007 5:26:50 PM

+3 Boost

I think just a drop in a month is too early for us to start crying. Still not a bad month.

1970toyotamarc - 12/3/2007 6:36:42 PM

+2 Boost

The gap between BMW and Lexus continues to shrink. Lexus needs to step up. Nice to see the GS finally on the upswing. With the 350 and 460 engines, hopefully people will start to see this car as a world class competitor to the 5 and E. A couple more updates are definitely needed to the lineup if Lexus hopes to keep its top spot. How 'bout a better base engine for the IS (and more variants); a new SC would be nice, tho it wouldnt increase overall sales all that much, it would be a better halo car than the current one; the new LX should help; and they could still use an X3/RDX competitor. Lexus really stepped up its game over the past 2 years when it replaced its entire car lineup (except SC) but they would be remiss to just sit on their laurels. Somehow I think they are up to the challenge.

Toyota still rolls on toward world domination. Tundra continues to impress. xB on the rise again, despite everyone's talk of doom. Prius and other hybrids continue to fly off lots.

david999 - 12/3/2007 6:48:16 PM

-1 Boost

LS with sales of 2668 is very impressive.

E46MANIA - 12/3/2007 9:35:50 PM

+1 Boost

Rival Hyundai's sales went up 12% in November.
Watch out!

r15mohd - 12/4/2007 9:01:15 AM

0 Boost

only SUV that Lexus ever depended on was the RX and in all reality it does offer similar numbers to the v6 sedans.

the pot of gold for Lexus is the ES and RX, that won't change...thye will continue to sell and improve. the LS and GS gets respected numbers, the LX may help out some, but not for long due to gas pricing. the SC should out for a change soon as well, no major news on it lately but i wouldn't be shocked to see something appear soon.

i believe this is Lexus's first decline this year as far as sales. nothing to be worried about...no manufacturer is perfect. and coming off of record sales months, they only had one direction to go. December will prove a great for them i believe. many great deals/offers come around that time for Lexus...

nothing to worry about here!

1970toyotamarc - 12/4/2007 10:37:35 AM

0 Boost

good point about december. Lexus is pretty famous in luxury circles for their december events. Many buyers may be putting off purchases waiting for the december to remember big red bows.

enthusiastx11 - 12/4/2007 11:16:09 AM

-2 Boost

"Many buyers may be putting off purchases waiting for the december to remember big red bows."

this is irrelevant. the sales decline is a year-over-year comparison to last november. so unless lots more people are waiting for the big red bows this year...

1970toyotamarc - 12/4/2007 7:07:32 PM

+2 Boost

dont be a troll, its just a theory. do u ever have anything constructive to add????

skinny - 12/4/2007 1:24:17 PM

+4 Boost

Look at the sales numbers, SUVs were down big and they should be. Gas prices hurt as well as all 3 SUVs are up for redesign soon. New LX570 coming soon, new RX next year, and a new GX should be around in about a year. On the car front, the SC makes up very little of their sales anyway, so no big deal. Last year the LS sales were overinflated due to it being totally redesigned. The novelty has worn off, but it's still selling really well for it's price class.

BMW catching up?? FUnny. BMW & Mercedes should be blowing the doors off Lexus sales in the US. Both automakers have a much more product over a broader price range. How many 3 series model variations does BMW have? Over 10. Then you have Z3, 5-6 5-series models, etc. What has always been sad is that how Lexus outsells BMW and Mercedes in the US with less than 1/2 the number of models, and they have never diluted the brand with sub $30K products like Mercedes has with the C230 hatch and BMW did in the past with 3-series hatch and next year with the 1-series.

david999 - 12/4/2007 1:29:53 PM

+2 Boost

All good points skinny.

RealitySmack - 12/5/2007 8:44:43 AM

+1 Boost

I agree on the fact that lot of MB models are WAY overpriced because of the "history" BS. I mean why the heck would I pay that much when I can get a nice Porsche that's in the similar price range? BMW on the other hand, is more practical!

skinny - 12/4/2007 4:25:16 PM

0 Boost

Mercedes,

Nice excuse "It doesn't matter how many models a brand has". You ever take a business class? Oh wait, obviously not!

autopro - 12/4/2007 5:16:47 PM

+1 Boost

Lexus has been selling all year with little or no incentives.Their taking that incentive money and re-investing for the future.At the same time their still going to get the luxury sales crown for the seventh year in a row.Their smarter than the competition.

skinny - 12/5/2007 12:06:12 PM

-1 Boost

Mercedes,

Sorry, frankly, you have zilch in terms of common sense. If you ever took business 101(duh), you would know, manufacturer's diversify product offerings to sell MORE. Let's see the C-class for instance, you have a C-class sedan, C-class wagons, and multiple engine choices for each. Let's see:
C300, C350, Sport Versions, station wagons.
Vs. Lexus with the a couple of versions of the IS and one ES.
Then you have cars that benz has that Lexus doesn't even have competition for. Duh:
CLK-series
SLK-series
CL-Class coupes
wagon versions of the E-Class.

See more products across a broader price range. Lexus sells more products across a narrower price range. Simple Business 101 case. I think you may need to take class.

S4cabriofoxone - 12/5/2007 6:27:37 PM

+1 Boost

Mercedes-Benz does not currently offer a C-Class wagon. I wouldn't count the "Sport" C-Classes as different models... there are only three Cs, the C300, C300 4MATIC and C350. Similarly, there are the IS250, IS250 AWD, IS350 and ES350. More models for Lexus right there.

I would say that it's fairly obvious that the SC covers both the CLK and SL classes, but fails in both segments. It's not as roomy as the CLK, but not as stylish or sporty as the SL.

There is only one wagon version of the E-Class that gets any buyers, the E350. The E63 AMG can't even be built online.