Lexus Revises Japanese Sales Goals Downward Again

When Toyota ushered in the Lexus brand to Japan with the GS and SC models in late-August last year, it had forecast sales of 50,000 to 60,000 units for 2006.

In December, it lowered that forecast to 40,000 citing a delay in the LS's launch from summer.

Now, Toyota expects Lexus sales to reach 30,000 units, of which 10,000 are expected to come from the LS460, which replaces the Toyota Celsior model in Japan.

Lexus has already received more than 9,000 pre-sale orders in Japan for the car, priced between $65,230-$81,750.

Lexus expects to sell about 20,000 LS460s globally in 2006. The highly touted hybrid version, LS600h, will be rolled out next spring

DarkOneForce - 9/20/2006 9:19:56 AM

+1 Boost

The Lexus LS was the Toyota Celsior.

What I don't understand is why did they have to manage the Lexus brand so poorly in their own market.

urbansouljah - 9/20/2006 9:34:51 AM

+2 Boost

The Lexus brand just launched in Japan. They are not handling it poorly. It takes time to establish a brand in a new market.

Agent009 - 9/20/2006 9:45:47 AM

+1 Boost

Reuters

Dave - 9/20/2006 9:55:08 AM

+2 Boost

this will all take time to work. Toyota has been in Japan forever, but Lexus has only been introduced recently. Added to the fact the other German luxury brands have long been established in Japan as well. Lexus will need some time(may be a few years) to establish themselves in their home market.

TimE - 9/20/2006 10:16:50 AM

+1 Boost

Mind that Japanese culture is very traditional - prestige & luxus are associated with heritage (even more than in Europe). So no good times for Lexus in Japan for quite some time. Unless they reposition the brand & lower the prices ... Which I guess won't happen.

bigslick83 - 9/20/2006 1:54:38 PM

+1 Boost

the only people in japan who are prob buying them are americans. i would find it bizare tho. if we had an american car company that was hugley successful in other countries, but not even available here then people would give their first born for them. and as soon as it was released after more than a decade of being exclusive to non-Americans they would sell hugely. that gives me an idea....

AUDBMLEXMRC - 9/20/2006 3:34:10 PM

+1 Boost

this comment does not seem to credible. There is no valid link in the page to click.

Agent009 - 9/20/2006 4:27:14 PM

+1 Boost

Kevin- You have little faith, here is the URL

http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&symbol=&storyID=2006-09-19T102701Z_01_T245315_RTRIDST_0_AUTOS-TOYOTA-LEXUS-UPDATE-2-PICTURE.XML&pageNumber=1&WTModLoc=InvArt-C1-ArticlePage1&sz=13

BMW530i - 9/20/2006 6:25:36 PM

+1 Boost

I agree with TIME.

However, I don't agree about the lower price aspect. Part of what makes the German brands appealing is their high price. I know how this sounds but the company I work for has sold products in Japan and our market research has come up with quite bizarre results.

A higher price means more prestige, obviously, especially in regards to BMW and MB, which the Japanese know. Wealthy Japanese are apparently not too concerned about spending, as our research indicated, but value the image and prestige of a brand. This is top on their list. Hence, BMW or MB has no problems selling a low-spec car overthere because essentially, the buyer cares more about the badge. Quite the opposite here in the US, where most buyers seem to be obsessed with value, even in the luxury market. Luxury shouldn't even be associated with value. It defies the point. No wonder people say Americans are stupid... :(

If Lexus starts out with lower prices, this will be something that will STICK with the image of the brand. That means that Lexus can't raise prices drastically in the future because the market will react: and react negatively, especially since Lexus is a nobody compared to the German brands in Japan.