Lexus November 2017 Sales Report

I'm impressed the LS is still moving as many as it is, with the new one almost here.

*The sedan line needs an urgent makeup
*The RX with little -ve this month Donno why ?!!! maybe because a lot of people waiting the RX-L
*Amazed by the NX, GX & LX especially the GX & LX they are literally speaking living more than there natural time bands and still perform very well
*LC needs the LC-F fast even if it won't sell much they will effect the whole LC lineup and give it a sweet needed pump
*ES also by -ve and it's logic as the next generation is in the horizon

Ian Schmidt

I'm impressed the LS is still moving as many as it is, with the new one almost here.

They're probably selling down the last of the 17s, but I'm sure a lot of them have been incentivized...the only Lexus that doesn't have it as this point is the LC. And it looks like many of the last CTs are gone from most dealer inventories.

@Tragic Bronson
The strange thing is that the number of yaris iA sold is way better than the normal hatchback and way better than the original Mazda 2 numbers which is so strange for me

maiaramdan

@Tragic Bronson
The strange thing is that the number of yaris iA sold is way better than the normal hatchback and way better than the original Mazda 2 numbers which is so strange for me

Definitely, Toyota is a bigger known brand in this world to mainstream buyers than Mazda that appeals more to the niche, enthusiast buyer (that would not be caught driving a Corolla or Camry).

The hatchback is seriously expensive for what you get. Those customers end up going to the Corolla for the most part. The sedan has always been more reasonably priced, and with them building them in Mexico, the iA is more competitively priced (Not to mention it handles well and is up to date, more so than the hatch that's 'old' with its 4 speed auto). The iA better competes against the Nissan Versa at the lower price point (Despite its ugly snot), because buyers in this segment shop more on price than anything else.

Its no surprise that when you look at a Toyota dealer's inventory, the hatches are usually less than 10, while the iA is two-threefold in quantity.

Look at the Prius PRIME numbers. Future of hybrid is PHEV and I have no clue how Lexus is going to adjust its overly complex RWD hybrid powertrain to accommodate huge battery and not add another price gap of 15% between regular gas guzzler and PHEV.

When I purchased my 2018 GS pretty much all the 17s were gone by that point at least in the GS which is I know a smaller amount of sales. I went to the dealer today tho and it seems like sales is strong at least at this dealer as they said inventory is low.

http://www.autonews.com/article/201...cedes-closes-in-on-another-luxury-sales-crown

LUXURY: Mercedes closes in on another luxury sales crown

With one month to go in 2017, Mercedes-Benz appears to have back-to-back U.S. luxury sales crowns all but wrapped up with a 30,611-vehicle lead over second-place BMW.

Both of the leading German luxury brands posted sales increases in November. But No. 3 Lexus had sales tumble 6.7 percent last month, falling further behind BMW for the year. Lexus finished November trailing BMW by 1,761 vehicles through the first 11 months of the year.

As the brands gear up for what is typically the luxury segment's hottest month, Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Dietmar Exler said this week that he feels "carefully optimistic" going into the home stretch.

"It's never done until it's done," Exler told Automotive News. "There's always been surprises, but it's looking good."

Mercedes posted a 1.6 percent increase in luxury sales in November, finishing with 30,363 vehicles. Volume drivers last month included the C class, GLC and GLE. Year to date, Mercedes' luxury sales are down 2 percent to 302,043 vehicles. Mercedes claimed the luxury title in 2016, taking over from BMW.

With a 7.1 percent gain in November, BMW posted its largest monthly sales increase of the year. The company credited strong results for the 5 series, X5 and X3. November marked the first month of sales for the redesigned X3, the brand's popular compact crossover. Year to date, BMW sales are down 3.2 percent to 271,432 vehicles.

It's shaping up as an anticlimactic end to the year for luxury market watchers.

"December generally is a big month for luxury vehicle sales and sometimes a close horse race for luxury sales crown leadership," Autotrader executive analyst Michelle Krebs said. "Such a horse race doesn't seem to exist this year. Mercedes-Benz appears to have the crown in the bag. BMW is running a distant second and Lexus, which had a tough start to the year, is running behind BMW."

Incentives for luxury brands, including lease pull-ahead programs, are already pretty hefty, Krebs said. High numbers are expected to continue in December.

Eye-popping incentives in November included $30,000 in dealer cash for the 2017 Jaguar F-Type SVR, more than $27,000 in dealer cash on the Volvo XC90 T8 Excellence and more than $10,000 in dealer cash on Lexus LS and LX models, according to Autotrader parent Cox Automotive. Mercedes, BMW and Audi have been less aggressive on incentives.

Total U.S. luxury sales for November won't be available until Monday because a technical glitch kept Nissan North America from reporting sales for the Nissan and Infiniti brands.

Overall, U.S. luxury light-vehicle sales rose 0.3 percent through October and outpaced the market's overall slight decline this year. Based on the Automotive News Data Center's estimates for Infiniti's U.S. deliveries last month, U.S. luxury brand sales will remain about 0.3 percent higher through November

In addition to Mercedes and BMW, other luxury brands that posted sales increases in November were Acura, Audi, Genesis, Land Rover, Porsche and Volvo.

James

When I purchased my 2018 GS pretty much all the 17s were gone by that point at least in the GS which is I know a smaller amount of sales. I went to the dealer today tho and it seems like sales is strong at least at this dealer as they said inventory is low.

I think Lexus stopped making MY17 cars earlier this year. When my dad purchased his ESh in June, its production date was 11/16, so that car is already one year old already now, but it probably was sitting on the lot for awhile...I checked the inventories of the two biggest dealers in the nation (JM and Longo), and both still have over 250 MY17s in stock.

These decade old BOFs just refuse to die. People really love trucks that are indestructible.

mediumhot

Look at the Prius PRIME numbers. Future of hybrid is PHEV and I have no clue how Lexus is going to adjust its overly complex RWD hybrid powertrain to accommodate huge battery and not add another price gap of 15% between regular gas guzzler and PHEV.

The Prime sells that well because it's the cheapest PHEV money can buy. People treat it as a regular Prius, but with a usable EV range and comes with incentives. People cross-shop the Prime with "premium trim" Prii, not other PHEVs like the Volt because they are simply in a different price bracket. See this thread to understand the rationale behind Lexus not doing PHEVs.

https://lexusenthusiast.com/forums/threads/discussion-lexus-plug-in-hybrids-evs-and-fuel-cells.3868/

Updated the sales report with Canadian sales -- here's a breakdown:

The Lexus division achieved its 17th consecutive monthly record, with 1,911 luxury vehicles sold, up 1.9% compared to November 2016. The luxury brand has also already surpassed its annual sales record, with year-to-date sales of 23,210 units, up 11.8% compared to last year.

It's still a hell of a lot more vehicles sold than here in Australia.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dalebu...lexus-keeps-defining-holiday-auto-shopping/2/

Seasonal Sway: With 'December To Remember,' Lexus Keeps Defining Holiday Auto Shopping

Lexus pioneered the end-of-the-year automotive "event" sale, and the brand started last week trying to keep the tradition going. Its biggest-ever months for U.S. sales were December in each of the last two years, and as the industry levels off overall, Lexus would like to try for a third record month on the strength of its 2017 "December To Remember" sales event and an accompanying new advertising campaign.

Over the last several years, December also has become a big time of focus in the premium segment because, typically, three brands are involved in a year-end horse race to see which can be the best-selling in the U.S. Mercedes-Benz has been the champion lately, but not long ago BMW and Lexus each held the crown.

"We never set out to be No.1," Brian Bolain, general manager of Lexus marketing, told me. "We want to be in the conversation and that's the most important part of it... I'm not sure we need to be No. 1 in sales but we don't want to be forgotten... We'll certainly exceed 300,000 units this year and that's quite an accomplishment."

In any event, Lexus began "December To Remember" and the red bow tied around a vehicle in the driveway in 1999. During the last two decades, Lexus's leadership in highlighting holiday-season sales has led to a transformation of the period -- and particularly December -- from a relatively sleepy time for U.S. auto sales into one of the most interesting and creative.

Car sales and the associated advertising have become an important part of the celebratory marketing mix in the fourth quarter, and a key closing push for the entire industry. Nearly every brand now deploys its own specific, holiday-related campaign, and the last week of the year has been transformed from a very soporific time in dealer showrooms into a very active one.

"One thing augmenting the end-of-the-year trend is leasing," Bolain said. "If you put customers into a two- or three-year lease in December, many are going to be coming back in two or three years, so every big December sets us up for another big one."

This year, Lexus's campaign includes a series of TV ads in which adults are depicted as kids "letting out their inner child" as they celebrate seeing a new Lexus in their wintry driveway -- tied, of course, with the now-iconic red bow and accompanied by a new version of the same musical theme that Lexus has used from the beginning. As they suddenly appear in their adult forms, family members join in the good cheer.

Has the "piling on" by every other brand affected the distinctiveness of Lexus's message this time of year? It seems like no one else will touch that red bow.

"We were fortunate in that we staked our claim early on some elements that are still ownable," Bolain said. "We've certainly seen everyone else jump into the fray but we've managed to hold ourselves separate from the pack."

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ealing-u-s-luxury-sales-crown-will-be-a-cinch

For Mercedes, Sealing U.S. Luxury Sales Top Spot Will Be a Cinch

• Second-place BMW trails by more than 30,000 autos year to date
• Lexus nipping at BMW’s heels even as its November sales slide

With just a month left to go, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz has all but clinched another year of luxury dominance in the U.S. market.

Mercedes eked out a 1.6 percent monthly sales gain in November on strong demand for its GLC sport utility vehicle. BMW AG, which boosted deliveries 7.1 percent last month on the strength of its X5 SUV and newly redesigned 5 Series sedan, is trailing Mercedes year to date in the U.S. by more than 30,000 cars.

“Mercedes-Benz has been more successful in the SUV space -- they have more (and more practical) offerings,” Jessica Caldwell, an analyst for car-shopping website Edmunds, said in an email. “BMW is trying to stop losing consumers who need a larger SUV to their competitors.”



Mercedes has spent a second consecutive year leading the U.S. market after snatching the crown from BMW last year. BMW, which finished No. 3 in 2016 behind Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus, is less than 2,000 units ahead of its Japanese competitor in year-to-date sales, meaning the silver medal for 2017 is still very much in play.

BMW -- which also lost the global luxury lead last year to Mercedes -- is responding with the biggest rollout of new and revamped models in its history, including bigger SUVs like the X7 concept it showed at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week.

Lexus, which topped Mercedes in U.S. sales for two straight months this summer, said November deliveries fell 6.7 percent as its cars slumped more than 20 percent. Volkswagen AG’s Audi, which reported a 12 percent gain for November, is the only one of the four-biggest luxury brands in the U.S. that’s posted a year-to-date sales increase.

Hope the numbers will be totally different next year this time when they have new ES, LS, LC (have a total year), RX-L & UX

mediumhot

Look at the Prius PRIME numbers. Future of hybrid is PHEV and I have no clue how Lexus is going to adjust its overly complex RWD hybrid powertrain to accommodate huge battery and not add another price gap of 15% between regular gas guzzler and PHEV.

Future when exactly? Thats the problem.

As to the Lexus PHEV, they will be able to do the same as they did for Prius PHEV.. question is just how much money are they willing to lose currently (right now it is 0).

For them to offer proper plugins, customers need to embrace plugins without huge incentives. Right now they are not doing that. Prius PHEV jumped to #4 best selling plugin of all of 2017 worldwide quickly, without availability in all markets. Thats actually bad sign for plugins, not good one.