Earlier this week, Lexus USA held its National Dealership meeting in Las Vegas, and now some details have been made public by way of The Wall Street Journal:
Toyota Motor Corp. plans to offer rebates of up to $3,000 as well as subsidized financing on certain models in its Lexus brand as part of a drive to help the luxury brand goose sales and pass rival Mercedes-Benz by the end of the year, according to two people briefed by the company at a dealer meeting here.
Lexus’s sales have increased just 8.7% so far this year, while the overall market has grown 10.3% and Mercedes’s sales have jumped 21.3%.
At a gathering of Lexus dealers from across the country–the first such meeting in two years—company executives said Toyota is prepared to boost incentives in the next few weeks to spur sales, these people said. The incentives will low-interest financing and subsidized leases in addition to rebates, they said.
The meeting included an address by Toyota Chief Executive Akio Toyoda and was designed to fire up dealers after a rough year.
Dealers were also shown a version of the 2013 Lexus GS sedan, which will be redesigned for that model year, these people said.
With most Lexus models now at least halfway through their lifecycle, rebates and incentives become a key factor in maintaining sales volume and combating competitors — the fourth quarter is looking to be a great time to buy a Lexus.
(As for the next-gen GS not arriving until 2012, I find that a little hard to believe that Lexus will continue on with the third-gen GS for another year. Anything’s possible, though.)
[Source: The Wall Street Journal Full Text: Club Lexus]
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