Lexus has set some impressive sales goals for 2012 — let’s start with the U.S. forecast by way of Bloomberg:
Sales of Lexus vehicles in the U.S. may reach 250,000, from 198,552 in 2011, Kazuo Ohara, senior managing officer for Lexus, told reporters in Miyazaki, Japan, late yesterday. Gains will come from the new GS sedan that went on sale this month and a revamped ES sedan that arrives by midyear, he said.
“Last year we had some problems with earthquake and Thai floods,” Ohara said. Outselling Germany’s BMW and Daimler AG (DAI)’s Mercedes-Benz in the U.S. is a goal, “if possible,” he said.
While U.S. sales of 250,000 vehicles would have claimed top spot in 2011, it’s unlikely to be enough in 2012 — after all, BMW took the 2011 top spot with 247,907 vehicles sold, and will surely see a sales increase of its own.
(One quick thing to note about the Bloomberg article is the confirmation of the next-generation ES by midyear — even with the rumors and the spy shots, it’s nice to read something official.)
Now let’s Move on to the worldwide sales goals, here’s a quote from Reuters:
Toyota Motor Corp said on Thursday it aims to boost worldwide sales of its Lexus luxury cars by about a quarter to 500,000-510,000 vehicles this year, bringing them back to levels before the global financial crisis hammered demand.
Globally, Lexus sold 404,000 vehicles last year, down from a peak of 518,000 in 2007.
Despite the circumstances of last year, aiming for a 26% increase in worldwide sales seems like a bold estimate — however, consider this:
- As mentioned above, Lexus is hoping to sell 52,000 more vehicles in the USA.
- According to this press release, Lexus China is forecasting 88,000 sales this year, up from 56,303 in 2011.
Add these two speculative sales figures together, and you get 83,700 additional units sold, or 80% of the worldwide increase necessary to hit the 2012 sales goal. Of course, there’s no guarantee that these estimates will be met — however, with Lexus releasing so many new models this year, it’s safe to say that anything’s possible.
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