By Robert Farago
March 22, 2008 -
Not that the average American Lexus buyer could give a damn, but Toyota's luxury division has singularly failed to gain traction outside the U.S. market. Which is exactly the point: Americans are far less bothered by issues of provenance (i.e. or lack thereof) than any other developed automotive market. Business Week reports that the analysis applies to Lexus' home turf. "When Toyota (TM) introduced its Lexus brand in Japan three years ago, the company was hoping drivers like Masayoshi Haku would swoon over the luxury lineup. The 46-year-old doctor is a car lover with a $110,000 BMW 750 sedan and a $60,000 Porsche Boxster, so he should have been a prime customer for Lexus. But Haku hasn't taken the bait. Why? Lexus is too Japanese for his tastes… 'Foreign brands have more individuality.'" Sales reflect this non-import bias; Lexus sold just 34,800 cars in Japan last year. As Biz Week points out, Lexus did itself no favors with its initial lineup, featuring "the $52,000 GS sports sedan, the $68,000 SC convertible, and the entry-level IS sedan, starting at about $40,000. All three had previously been available in Japan under the Toyota nameplate— for about 20% less than the Lexus models." Oops. [thanks to stalightmica for the link]
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POWERED
March 22nd, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Selling a rebadged Aristo as the GS, a rebadged Soarer as the SC, and a rebadged Altezza as the IS. I would’ve hoped that ToMoCo had realized the pitfalls of badge engineering after watching what GM did.
So much for arguments about purity of origin…
March 22nd, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Hopefully Ghosn is watching this as he plans on bringing Infiniti to Japan.
March 23rd, 2008 at 12:59 am
Lexus has nothing to lose, if they are not doing good in Japan, no problem they can always revert back. I think Lexus is just testing waters.
March 23rd, 2008 at 1:29 am
Another problem is that in Japan, even downmarket brand dealerships treat you the way Lexus does here. It’s harder for Lexus to distinguish themselves in that way, over there.
March 23rd, 2008 at 2:38 am
quasimondo- lexus is not rebadging in Japan, they just have altered nomenclature, because japanese don`t like these short letter abbreviations. Don`t you think Altezza sounds better than GS? By the way, altezza name is used for transparent taillights with chrome lamp housing inside, and was started in Toyota Altezza. Imagine tuners bragging around that they have bought an aftermarket gs taillights? Let`s leave these boring names to germans, and those who chase them, or think, they are chasing them.
March 23rd, 2008 at 4:55 am
Altezza = IS
Windom = ES
Aristo = GS
Celsior = LS
Soarer = SC
Harrier = RX
Land Cruiser Prado = GX
Land Cruiser Cygnus = LX
But yeah, the IS was one of the first cars to come with transparent taillights, so people outside of Japan started calling them “altezzas” and the name stuck. Given that they’ve become common on many cars (stock), Toyota can be proud of having actually affected car design.
March 23rd, 2008 at 8:29 am
The sales of Harley Davidsons are pretty respectable there, as well, as it’s a sign of one’s wealth (and eclectic tastes?).
I’ve got nothing against “Altezza” taillights per se, but they just look like crap on some cars.
March 23rd, 2008 at 9:11 am
Jurisb,
Altered nomenclature with a 20-percent increase in price? If Cadillac did that you’d be all over them.
Oh, wait…
March 23rd, 2008 at 10:26 am
The 20% bit sounds good, alas it’s not strictly true. Although the SC430 was indeed sold as the Toyota Soarer, the current generation of both the GS and the IS arrived in Japan directly as Lexuses.
If, as mentioned, those three cars did not take the market by storm, the LS is doing quite well against the S Class, the king of the luxobarge niche. The Merc is most often seen in top spec models because they are the most expensive and that is the entire point of buying one for a lot of the show off types that make the customer base for the german brands in Japan. That’s what “individuality” means in the quote above.
With the LS600h, which takes the spot of most expensive japanese car on the market, there is at last an opportunity for those guys to throw a load of cash at a japanese car and not being laughed off the golf club car park by their german-equipped peers. This is an important starting point. The brand cachet (pardon my french) will eventually cascade down the social ladder from there. Toyota can afford to wait some years…
March 23rd, 2008 at 11:03 am
Toyota sales were down 7% in Japan last year, maybe there should be a Toyota/Lexus death watch series.