BMW Shoppers May Be Tempted by Lexus: Doron Levin (Correct)
Lexus was a newcomer in the U.S. car market in 1989, a name no one knew and a brand few believed could legitimize Toyota Motor Corp. as a maker of luxury.
Sixteen years after its debut, any skepticism has vanished, especially among executives at General Motors Corp., the manufacturer of Cadillac in Detroit, or the makers of Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart and BMW in Munich. Lexus now is the leading luxury make in the U.S. auto market, having passed Cadillac, BMW and Mercedes-Benz in sales.
And having risen to the top of the world's most profitable and prestigious automotive market, Lexus has its eye on a bigger prize, the whole world, where it trails BMW and Mercedes-Benz. (Not that the No. 1 Japanese automaker would be so boastful as to announce such a goal.)
Nevertheless, the debut of Lexus in Toyota's home market of Japan and the rollout of its BMW-fighter, the new IS250 and IS350 models, are unmistakable signs that Lexus's ambition is growing.
Through August, U.S. sales of Lexus reached 196,693, up 4.2 percent from a year earlier. Sales of BMW for the period were 171,579, a 1.2 percent gain, while Mercedes- Benz sales fell 0.9 percent to 138,812. Cadillac sales climbed 11 percent to 166,293.
Target: 3 Series
Lexus's new IS 250 and IS 350 are aimed squarely at Bayerische Motoren Werke AG's popular 3-Series sedan. BMW was second worldwide in luxury-car sales last year with sale of a bit more than 1 million vehicles, up 10 percent from 2003. Though BMW's sales are rising, they still trail DaimlerChrysler AG's Mercedes-Benz unit slightly for worldwide leadership in luxury sales.
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