Lexus April 2018 Sales Report

The fact that GS sales are up makes me feel like Lexus is trolling us.

krew

With GS sales up nearly 20%, can't help but feel like Lexus is trolling us.

This is trolling:

Lexus race fans will now experience amazing as the County of Monterey announced today the addition of Lexus as its official luxury vehicle at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (WRLS).

As part of the partnership, the Lexus GS F will serve as the official pace car

http://pressroom.toyota.com/release...y+vehicle+weathertech+raceway+laguna+seca.htm

I am thinking GS might not be going anywhere.

999 LS's... okay who didn't close that one deal :D

LUXURY: Mercedes maintains luxe lead over BMW, Lexus

Mercedes-Benz USA, propelled by strong demand for SUVs, topped the luxury U.S. sales race in April and continues to outpace its nearest rivals, No. 2 BMW and No. 3 Lexus, year to date.

Mercedes' U.S. sales inched 1 percent higher in April to 27,207, excluding the brand's commercial van sales. U.S. sales at Mercedes for January through April dipped 0.4 percent to 105,681 from a year ago. BMW sales rose 3.8 percent in April to 23,482, while Lexus volume dipped 2.1 percent to 21,642.

Rounding out the luxury segment's top five brands in April U.S. sales were Audi, with sales of 19,104, up 2.1 percent; and Acura, with deliveries of 11,888, down 16 percent.

Even with a dip in volume, Mercedes remains in first place among luxury brands year to date, followed by BMW (97,317) and Lexus (85,853).

Mercedes-Benz' volume leaders in April were the GLC, C class and GLE. The GLC took the lead in April with U.S. sales of 5,853, followed by C class deliveries of 5,148. The GLE rounded out the top three with 4,110 units sold.

"April sales are leading us into a solid second quarter," Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Dietmar Exler said in a statement. "We continue to see strong demand for our SUVs, and our increasingly diverse product lineup will continue this momentum as we enter into the summer months."

Porsche Cars North America Inc. reported April U.S. sales of 5,570 -- a monthly retail record -- and a 0.7 percent gain over April 2017. Retail sales for January through April rose 7 percent to 19,524 vehicles.

"The Porsche mix of two- and four-door sports cars is getting a broad welcome from customers," Porsche Cars North America CEO Klaus Zellmer said in a statement. "We see this in the strong April demand that crosses model lines."

April growth leaders were the 718 Cayman, up 67 percent year-over-year, and the Macan, which gained 33 percent from April 2017.

Total U.S. luxury sales dipped 2.2 percent in April, excluding Cadillac's results. And for the year, deliveries of luxury brands are up 1.3 percent, excluding Cadillac. General Motors is now releasing quarterly U.S. sales results, rather than monthly, for Cadillac and its other core brands, Chevrolet, GMC and Buick.

Overall, the luxury market is outperforming the total U.S. light-vehicle market, which slipped an estimated 4.8 percent in April but is up 0.2 percent year to date.

LS and ES are the only two models that can boost Lexus throughout 2018. Mercedes E Class and S Class are hard to beat in terms of sales volume.

I'm not surprised the GLC did so well, it's way nicer than the NX.

So GS &, GX are up and those are the most 2 whom can be dead !!!

Lexus sold a bit over 21,000 units. Audi was right behind at 19,000 plus. This was unheard of a decade ago.

mikeavelli

Lexus sold a bit over 21,000 units. Audi was right behind at 19,000 plus. This was unheard of a decade ago.

Not sure what's going on either, but I don't like it!

Ray99

LS and ES are the only two models that can boost Lexus throughout 2018. Mercedes E Class and S Class are hard to beat in terms of sales volume.

I'm even eyeing an E class coupe

Does anyone find it disturbing the LC is already losing momentum after just 12 months? Remember they targeted 4,000 sales in 2017 alone? They achieved about 60% of that.

ssun30

Does anyone find it disturbing the LC is already losing momentum after just 12 months? Remember they targeted 4,000 sales in 2017 alone? They achieved about 60% of that.

Partially long winter, partially expensive. In any case, goal with LC is that it elevates the brand.

I know UX will be later in the year, but I expect RX L to add decent extra volume in it's first full year on sale.

Problem for Lexus is that their SUV lineup is starting to really lack the appeal of others. North of $60k, everything is a decade old. We need new GX and LX pretty badly, as well as LF-1.

Technically, RX should be refreshed later this year too for 2019MY.

Gecko

I know UX will be later in the year, but I expect RX L to add decent extra volume in it's first full year on sale.

Problem for Lexus is that their SUV lineup is starting to really lack the appeal of others. North of $60k, everything is a decade old. We need new GX and LX pretty badly, as well as LF-1.

Technically, RX should be refreshed later this year too for 2019MY.

It is not really a problem since they sell really well.

What they need is new models, like UX and FT-1 in the future, in order to further increase the sales. For instance stopping sales of CT deduced 10k of sales from their yearly tally.

And they still have problems producing enough of all these SUVs, they need more RX-Ls, more NXs and they will likely need a lot more UXs than what they get alloted.

spwolf

It is not really a problem since they sell really well.

It is a HUGE problem like I've said in a different post. Not having a healthy line-up in the "above RX" segment ready before 2017 is the single biggest business failure in all their history, period. They are bleeding at least $2 billion a year (partially offset by strong GX sales in US) due to a late LF-1 which is 10% of their annual revenue, and the loss of market share is even worse than the loss of potential sales.

ssun30

It is a HUGE problem like I've said in a different post. Not having a healthy line-up in the "above RX" segment ready before 2017 is the single biggest business failure in all their history, period. They are bleeding at least $2 billion a year (partially offset by strong GX sales in US) due to a late LF-1 which is 10% of their annual revenue, and the loss of market share is even worse than the loss of potential sales.

But LX does sell well... they sold over 30k LX's last year worldwide.

Sure FT-1 is going to be awesome, but they are selling LX really well for what it is. And GX also sells really well in the USA.

Combined they sell 8% of Lexus sales worldwide.

FT-1 is going to fit well in specific markets, but not all markets. Strongest markets for LX will not touch LF-1.

Gecko

I know UX will be later in the year, but I expect RX L to add decent extra volume in it's first full year on sale.

Problem for Lexus is that their SUV lineup is starting to really lack the appeal of others. North of $60k, everything is a decade old. We need new GX and LX pretty badly, as well as LF-1.

Technically, RX should be refreshed later this year too for 2019MY.

Another issue is they are going to look really stale soon when you can get a S Audi or AMG Benz everything or M/M-Sport with more power... I'm still stunned the GLC 43 AND 63 exist.

I am PRAYING for aggressive F expansion including SUV's.

@mikeavelli

Your plan may work well but maybe with the next NX & RX generations

They need to be built with F variant in mind, the current NX & RX chassis can't handle things fine

UX with the TNGA I think it can handle well up to 300hp as to go with GLA / X1 - X2 / Q3 with theirs respective sport variant, next NX with its TNGA need to up it's limits to catch the GLC / X3 - X4 / Q5 / Macan / Stelvio / F pace / etc though

GA-K is capable of handling at least 302hp, that part is clear. No excuse for Lexus to not build at least a NX350. I can imagine that thing selling like hot cakes in the U.S.

spwolf

But LX does sell well... they sold over 30k LX's last year worldwide.

Sure FT-1 is going to be awesome, but they are selling LX really well for what it is. And GX also sells really well in the USA.

Combined they sell 8% of Lexus sales worldwide.

FT-1 is going to fit well in specific markets, but not all markets. Strongest markets for LX will not touch LF-1.

It is not just models, but also options, as @mikeavelli, @ssun30 and @maiaramdan mention. I have known several people who have crossed RX and NX off the shopping list because there are no higher performance models offered. There is a big market for a higher horsepower RX. It looks so aggressive that there are a number of people expecting performance credentials to back it up. NX appeals to a younger demographic, and those with money want more power, quad exhaust, more lavish interior, responsive handling, etc.

I think this is the fault of two things: old hardware and platforms that probably can't support higher performance applications, and Lexus being typically slow to respond. Also, quite frankly, Lexus may have no idea what they're doing or how to do it when it comes to high performance FWD or AWD applications. Myself and others were hoping for an AWD ES to give us details on a potential higher performance AWD system, but that didn't happen. I want to hope that TNGA can support a few 350-450hp applications, and being so rigid, it should be able to. However, the missing ingredient is an active, performance-oriented AWD system.

Next gen NX 300 should have something like ~275hp 2.0T, 215hp hybrid option and then a ~375hp V6 NX F.

Next gen RX should have 275hp 2.0T, ~300hp hybrid option and then a 400-425hp V6 RX F.

Those numbers are really far below what competitors offer, but I also don't personally think much more performance than that is necessary in an SUV, and I believe Lexus probably knows that.

Also, Lexus is lucky that GX sells so well here but it truly is a niche product now. X5, GLE and GLS are all very old. Jag has no flagship SUV, Q7 is fairly bland and boring, Cadillac has nothing, Infiniti has nothing. If Lexus produced LF-1 and it could be on the road within ~12 months, they would be incredibly successful. The only credible, desirable vehicle in this segment is the Cayenne, and maybe the Levante.

Gas prices are starting to go up again also - how much and for how long, no idea. But I am hoping Lexus doesn't miss the window of opportunity for the LF-1 because they sit on their hands for too long.

Also, what has taken so long with LX? We are now approaching the 11th model year for this generation. Lexus has done a good job at updating it, but we are really out of updates at this point with new G Class, Bentayga, X7, etc.

Gecko

It is not just models, but also options, as @mikeavelli, @ssun30 and @maiaramdan mention. I have known several people who have crossed RX and NX off the shopping list because there are no higher performance models offered. There is a big market for a higher horsepower RX. It looks so aggressive that there are a number of people expecting performance credentials to back it up. NX appeals to a younger demographic, and those with money want more power, quad exhaust, more lavish interior, responsive handling, etc.

I think this is the fault of two things: old hardware and platforms that probably can't support higher performance applications, and Lexus being typically slow to respond. Also, quite frankly, Lexus may have no idea what they're doing or how to do it when it comes to high performance FWD or AWD applications. Myself and others were hoping for an AWD ES to give us details on a potential higher performance AWD system, but that didn't happen. I want to hope that TNGA can support a few 350-450hp applications, and being so rigid, it should be able to. However, the missing ingredient is an active, performance-oriented AWD system.

Next gen NX 300 should have something like ~275hp 2.0T, 215hp hybrid option and then a ~375hp V6 NX F.

Next gen RX should have 275hp 2.0T, ~300hp hybrid option and then a 400-425hp V6 RX F.

Those numbers are really far below what competitors offer, but I also don't personally think much more performance than that is necessary in an SUV, and I believe Lexus probably knows that.

Also, Lexus is lucky that GX sells so well here but it truly is a niche product now. X5, GLE and GLS are all very old. Jag has no flagship SUV, Q7 is fairly bland and boring, Cadillac has nothing, Infiniti has nothing. If Lexus produced LF-1 and it could be on the road within ~12 months, they would be incredibly successful. The only credible, desirable vehicle in this segment is the Cayenne, and maybe the Levante.

Gas prices are starting to go up again also - how much and for how long, no idea. But I am hoping Lexus doesn't miss the window of opportunity for the LF-1 because they sit on their hands for too long.

Also, what has taken so long with LX? We are now approaching the 11th model year for this generation. Lexus has done a good job at updating it, but we are really out of updates at this point with new G Class, Bentayga, X7, etc.

Amen, Amen, and AMEN!!!!!

Gecko

It is not just models, but also options, as @mikeavelli, @ssun30 and @maiaramdan mention. I have known several people who have crossed RX and NX off the shopping list because there are no higher performance models offered. There is a big market for a higher horsepower RX. It looks so aggressive that there are a number of people expecting performance credentials to back it up. NX appeals to a younger demographic, and those with money want more power, quad exhaust, more lavish interior, responsive handling, etc.

I think this is the fault of two things: old hardware and platforms that probably can't support higher performance applications, and Lexus being typically slow to respond. Also, quite frankly, Lexus may have no idea what they're doing or how to do it when it comes to high performance FWD or AWD applications. Myself and others were hoping for an AWD ES to give us details on a potential higher performance AWD system, but that didn't happen. I want to hope that TNGA can support a few 350-450hp applications, and being so rigid, it should be able to. However, the missing ingredient is an active, performance-oriented AWD system.

Next gen NX 300 should have something like ~275hp 2.0T, 215hp hybrid option and then a ~375hp V6 NX F.

Next gen RX should have 275hp 2.0T, ~300hp hybrid option and then a 400-425hp V6 RX F.

Those numbers are really far below what competitors offer, but I also don't personally think much more performance than that is necessary in an SUV, and I believe Lexus probably knows that.

Also, Lexus is lucky that GX sells so well here but it truly is a niche product now. X5, GLE and GLS are all very old. Jag has no flagship SUV, Q7 is fairly bland and boring, Cadillac has nothing, Infiniti has nothing. If Lexus produced LF-1 and it could be on the road within ~12 months, they would be incredibly successful. The only credible, desirable vehicle in this segment is the Cayenne, and maybe the Levante.

Gas prices are starting to go up again also - how much and for how long, no idea. But I am hoping Lexus doesn't miss the window of opportunity for the LF-1 because they sit on their hands for too long.

Also, what has taken so long with LX? We are now approaching the 11th model year for this generation. Lexus has done a good job at updating it, but we are really out of updates at this point with new G Class, Bentayga, X7, etc.

I've never quoted my own post, but the other issue here is that Lexus truly has no idea how to sell high performance/niche cars like this - it's something the Germans are very good at. Lexus says, "Lets stock some NXs, RXs and ESs in basic color combinations because we know they'll sell quickly."

Mercedes, BMW and Audi say, "Let me talk you into the higher end model, a higher spec package, more options, lets at least take the high performance model for a test drive, have you thought about moving up a class?" etc. They lead with all of the performance, tech and design features that make you think you're buying something really superior, even if you end up settling for something lesser. This is how they sell more AMG, M and RS cars... thus the OEMs continuing to invest in new variants and trims.

Lexus is happy to sell you whatever is on the lot and keep it moving so they can sell a black/black RX to the next person who walks in the door in 35 minutes.

This is how the GS died in America. Lexus will have a lot of work to do in educating and incentivizing their dealer body to sell cars above the $60k price point, especially high performance models.

@Gecko
+1 bro, you nailed it
I keep asking myself if the previous smaller Rav4 handled the V6, why the newer luxurious NX can't get one? , I really hope they put the normal 3.5 v6 with 300+hp & if so, Lexus will gain a lot from the crowd who always eyed the lux-sporty ute, with this move Lexus will be among the European league, the thing that Lexus always suffered from

Gecko

If Lexus produced LF-1 and it could be on the road within ~12 months, they would be incredibly successful. The only credible, desirable vehicle in this segment is the Cayenne, and maybe the Levante.

Gas prices are starting to go up again also - how much and for how long, no idea. But I am hoping Lexus doesn't miss the window of opportunity for the LF-1 because they sit on their hands for too long.

Also, what has taken so long with LX? We are now approaching the 11th model year for this generation. Lexus has done a good job at updating it, but we are really out of updates at this point with new G Class, Bentayga, X7, etc.

The thing that sucks is, they have already missed that window of opportunity. LF-1 isn't coming in 12 months. They reacted too slow. The LF-1 will launch with a dozen competitors in a cut-throat segment. Their high-end crossover situation is very, very bad.

Gecko

Lexus is happy to sell you whatever is on the lot and keep it moving so they can sell a black/black RX to the next person who walks in the door in 35 minutes.

This is how the GS died in America. Lexus will have a lot of work to do in educating and incentivizing their dealer body to sell cars above the $60k price point, especially high performance models.

You nailed it. The worst thing about the ES is that it's a very successful product alone, but at the cost of the brand. It's a very disruptive product with a huge value advantage in the mid-size luxury sedan segment. Nothing offers similar amount of features, quality, and engine at such a low price. That's where the success comes from. Obviously it dominates the lower end of the segment, but it deals a huge amount of collateral damage to Lexus itself as well as other Toyota products. It results in a huge financial success, but also limited potential of greater success for the brand.

ssun30

You nailed it. The worst thing about the ES is that it's a very successful product alone, but at the cost of the brand. It's a very disruptive product with a huge value advantage in the mid-size luxury sedan segment. Nothing offers similar amount of features, quality, and engine at such a low price. That's where the success comes from. Obviously it dominates the lower end of the segment, but it deals a huge amount of collateral damage to Lexus itself as well as other Toyota products. It results in a huge financial success, but also limited potential of greater success for the brand.

ssun30

You nailed it. The worst thing about the ES is that it's a very successful product alone, but at the cost of the brand. It's a very disruptive product with a huge value advantage in the mid-size luxury sedan segment. Nothing offers similar amount of features, quality, and engine at such a low price. That's where the success comes from. Obviously it dominates the lower end of the segment, but it deals a huge amount of collateral damage to Lexus itself as well as other Toyota products. It results in a huge financial success, but also limited potential of greater success for the brand.

That's why from maybe even 15 years ago I wanted Lexus to kill the ES
Now because of only single model Toyota putting 6 other models in danger

1)Avalon which if the ES deleted can be enter easily into the premium category

2)Camry will turn to be a real A4/A6 fighter

Maybe even both Camry & Avalon can put the AWD found in the Sienna

3)GS will always lived to be the midsized warrior and its already the best in class regarding the handling even after those years

4)IS will always have a space to be lengthened and be with its own category regarding the rear leg space

5)Mark-X the always nostalgic Toyota sport sedans and successor to one of the first 4 door coupe with the Chaser, still until now no clear word what will happen to it

6)Crown maybe settled as a true Toyota international flagship and be in the size between LS & GS in TMC lineup

All of this done and scraped, ruined for ever because they don't want to let go for only one stupid nameplate

I'm gonna lift Mike's point from the Ford thread: if half of the people kvetching about the GS had actually bought one it wouldn't be going away.

Ian Schmidt

I'm gonna lift Mike's point from the Ford thread: if half of the people kvetching about the GS had actually bought one it wouldn't be going away.

And I was among the guilty bunch, well not really. I didn't want to spend that much for the GS460 so I went for the safer option. The ES is still my personal favorite.

Ian Schmidt

I'm gonna lift Mike's point from the Ford thread: if half of the people kvetching about the GS had actually bought one it wouldn't be going away.

And if I am from those whom not bought 1 or 3 GSs but 5, who now will give me what I always buy!!!

I see there are people who are rooting for the ES to get eliminated. I don't want it to however. The ES is a huge sweetheart for Lexus and many customers. The solution that I think is plausible is that they revamp the ES to a GS platform. We have been saying this for forever. ES fights E-Class/A6, GS fights CLS-Class/A7. There is still a huge market, and quite enough room for the GS, ES and IS to move upmarket.

- Position the IS more to ES pricing --> will give them more room to make it much more improved and an overall better car than what it is. I do realize it is only a few thousand dollars difference, but if they can offer more with just a few thousand, added to improved structure, engines, transmissions, driveline, interior, infotainment, wheelbase, then I think it is completely justifiable.

- The biggest change is for the ES to shoot even higher than what the IS is shooting for. The ES won't get as pricey as the current GS (because this segment would not command as much as the segment the GS can go to), but they can convert it to RWD and make it very similar to the GS in terms of everything but obviously since it would be a traditional four door sedan, it would be less dynamic, obviously. They can be sister cars, but if you want another step above, you shoot for the GS.

- The GS will also make a big jump. As it is, it has room to move upmarket and still not disrupt the LS. Similar to the ES, but more dynamic because of its design and the engineering they have in mind for the GS, to indicate that while it is not an order of magnitude higher than the ES, it is still obvious that it is a superior product in terms of sportiness.

The issue is Lexus is too stubborn to take notes from others. Someone wrote a post how it is history writing itself like Mercedes-Benz back in the day, but while Mercedes-Benz did have lots of money, but it doesn't compare to what Lexus has today in its reserves. They can move up and sacrifice their wallets a little. Yes, they won't earn as much as they would want to, but in the long run it would actually do them wonders.

Even if Lexus is willing to change, the change the ES has to make would be gargantuan, it would hurt Lexus in many ways because of the attachment there is to the current ES. It would be shocking for the whole world to react, and may have a hard time initially in terms of sales, but if they do put effort into it they do have a very good chance to swing it in the long run. Lexus thinks short term and I think that's what's hurting them. I mean honestly, look at today, they're hurting, but they're also shooting themselves in the foot. I would post that meme with the guy and the two buttons, getting sweaty deciding between two very hard choices, but I can't blame them whatsoever. They're at a crossroad right now (so we hope it would be), and they're making the decision of their lifetime.