The sales for Lexus USA’s last month of 2008 are in, and it wasn’t exactly a December to Remember. Here are the model-by-model numbers:
| 2008 | 2007 | % Change | |
| IS250/350/F | 3,539 | 5,651 | -37.4 |
| ES350 | 5,236 | 8,005 | -34.6 |
| GS350/460/450h | 1,200 | 2,579 | -53.5 |
| SC430 | 116 | 348 | -66.7 |
| LS460/600h L | 1,451 | 3,257 | -55.4 |
| Total Cars | 11,542 | 19,840 | -41.8 |
| RX350/400h | 9,932 | 11,835 | -16.1 |
| GX470 | 1,380 | 2,748 | -49.8 |
| LX570 | 508 | 132 | 284.8 |
| Total Trucks | 11,820 | 14,715 | -19.7 |
| Total Sales | 23,362 | 34,555 | -32.4 |
A couple things I noticed right away: sales of the LS are nervously low & sales of the RX are extremely high.
With the LS, my reaction is tempered because I know it’s the most expensive car in the lineup, but the design is less than two years old and sales are down sharply. It’s no wonder a facelift is expected this year, and the introduction of an LS-Sport (which I’ve had confirmed by A++ sources) makes a whole lot of sense. Something needs to be done.
Compare that with the RX, which saw the smallest drop despite the fact it’s being replaced by a brand-new model in February. There might have been some impetus to get rid of the outgoing RX’s, but the sales surprised me.
And how did Lexus do over the full year? That’s up next…
[Source: Lexus]