USA
Lexus USA has reported total sales of 21,463 for May 2012, up a staggering 61.0% compared to last year — let’s break down the model-by-model stats:
| MONTH | Year to Date (*DSR) | |||||
| 2012 | 2011 | % CHG* | 2012 | 2011 | % CHG* | |
| CT | 1,549 | 454 | 214.9 | 8,059 | 3,528 | 126.6 |
| HS | 21 | 220 | ‐91.2 | 612 | 1,198 | ‐49.3 |
| IS | 2,656 | 1,715 | 43.0 | 11,622 | 11,384 | 1.3 |
| ES | 2,937 | 2,400 | 13.0 | 14,485 | 14,438 | ‐0.5 |
| GS | 1,996 | 306 | 502.1 | 9,050 | 1,794 | 400.5 |
| LS | 459 | 585 | ‐27.6 | 2,560 | 3,742 | ‐32.1 |
| SC | 0 | 1 | ‐100.0 | 2 | 15 | ‐86.8 |
| Total Cars | 9,621 | 5,681 | 56.3 | 46,412 | 36,121 | 27.5 |
| RX | 10,647 | 5,847 | 68.1 | 35,376 | 34,697 | 1.2 |
| GX | 808 | 635 | 17.5 | 4,080 | 5,078 | ‐20.3 |
| LX | 387 | 142 | 151.6 | 2,242 | 1,341 | 65.9 |
| Total Trucks | 11,842 | 6,624 | 65.0 | 41,698 | 41,116 | 0.6 |
| Total Sales | 21,463 | 12,305 | 61.0 | 88,110 | 77,237 | 13.2 |
Please note, all percentages are calculated by the Daily Sales Rate (DSR), which takes into account the number of days in the month that dealerships could sell cars. May 2012 had 26 selling days, May 2011 had 24 selling days.
In just one month, Lexus USA has boosted their yearly sales nearly 10 percent, from 3.7% to 13.2%. In fact, the only two models that didn’t beat their May 2011 sales are the now-discontinued HS and the aging LS — every other model jumped at least 10%.
Notably, the GS fell under 2,000 sales for the first time since its debut, but still managed a 500%+ increase in sales over last year. The 2013 RX, which is now reaching dealerships, more than doubled sales.
To add some context, let’s dive into the monthly sales conference call transcript, starting with a quote from Toyota general manager Bob Carter:
Now it would be easy to write off this increase and those in the coming months as simply a rebound from sales that were limited last year by production disruptions and perceived inventory shortages in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. And that certainly accounts for part of the increase.
But we started May with just 30,000 more vehicles in stock than we had a year ago and ended the month by selling nearly 100,000 more cars and trucks. So obviously there is more to the story.
This may have been specific to Toyota, but I thought it an interesting point to make — this sales increase can’t be explained by the Japanese tsunami alone, there’s definitely “more to the story”.
(One final, non-sales related fact: the new ES and ES Hybrid will now reach dealerships in late July rather than in August.)
Canada
Sales were up 41.5% in Canada with 1,399 units sold — the CT 200h (+124.%), GS 350 (+575%), IS (+53.7%) and LX (+190.9%) all had good months.
(Note: Canada has now started publishing their sales breakdown (PDF) online.)
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