Lexus November 2018 Sales Report

How many selling days were there for the new ES? If it was a full month, then I expected more.

The LS is still keeping it to 90% of the sales target. Not bad for a sedan in this climate, but still not on target.

NX and RX are doing great - I am looking forward to see what the UX will bring to the table saleswise.

Yes, @LDeleuran, the pertinent question is: Of the 4222 ES sold, how many were 7ES vs. 6ES and how many selling days was the 7ES available?

I wonder why the huge lift in NX/RX hybrid sales too....

Lexus need the Limitless sooner rather than later.
Any news on the GS replacement?
And the UX?

LS close to 1k again is pretty good. Fingers crossed that the momentum is sustained :)

mikeavelli

I wonder why the huge lift in NX/RX hybrid sales too....

they adjusted the pricing and equipment levels to make hybrids more affordable, few months ago... now supply is catching with demand.

Automotive News comments on the current state of the luxury brand sales race in the U.S.:

LUXURY: Mercedes maintains lead over BMW, Lexus
December 3, 2018 - Urvaksh Karkaria

Despite an anemic 0.6 percent increase in November U.S. sales, Mercedes-Benz remained No. 1 among luxury brands last month.

Mercedes sold 31,022 vehicles in the month, excluding commercial vans. Sales by No. 2 BMW inched 1 percent higher to 28,330 vehicles in November.

Lexus sales fell 2.5 percent to 26,446. Audi's deliveries fell 11 percent to 17,082 units.

Year to date, Mercedes has sold 283,943 luxury vehicles, down 6 percent from the same period a year ago. In comparison, BMW reported sales of 276,657 vehicles for the first 11 months, up 1.9 percent. Lexus volume for the year has dropped 2.6 percent to 262,786. Audi has risen 0.5 percent to 200,558 deliveries.

Overall, U.S. luxury sales inched up 1.1 percent to 181,602 in November. For the year to date, luxury sales fell 0.3 percent to 1,809,974 deliveries.

December should be a strong month for luxury brands, as they traditionally push deals to close out the year, and several compete for the luxury sales crown, noted Akshay Anand, executive analyst at Kelley Blue Book.

"Healthy luxury sales should continue into 2019, as a slew of new luxury SUVs will hit the market over the course of the year," Anand said.

Mercedes-Benz, which is chasing a third consecutive U.S. luxury crown, is bullish on its prospects.

"We anticipate a solid close to the final weeks of 2018," Dietmar Exler, CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, said in a statement.

Mercedes-Benz volume leaders in November included the GLC, C-class and E-class model lines.

The GLC took the lead, at 6,199, followed by C-class sales of 5,777. The E class rounded out the top three, with 5,181 units sold. November sales of Mercedes-AMG high-performance vehicles totaled 3,070 units, with 24,808 vehicles sold year to date.

BMW brand sales increased for the 13th consecutive month. Crossovers accounted for 56 percent of November sales.

The all-new BMW X5 and BMW X3 together represented one out of every three BMW vehicles sold in the U.S. in November. The X3 was the top-selling BMW model in the U.S. for the ninth consecutive month.

Electrified vehicles accounted for 7.7 percent of BMW Group's U.S. sales last month. Sales of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids totaled 2,314 in November, down about 15 percent from a year ago.

"The public wants range, and the public wants SUVs," Anand said. "Automakers who meet those needs will be well-positioned in the EV space."

Porsche Cars North America reported November U.S. sales of 5,673 vehicles, a 2.1 percent uptick from the same time last year. Retail sales for the first 11 months climbed 3.1 percent to 53,116.

Porsche's November sales were fueled by strong demand for the Macan, the new-generation Cayenne and the Panamera. The Porsche 911 accelerated to more than 1,000 deliveries in a month for the first time this year.

The Macan was the brand's top seller in November, at 2,101 vehicles, or 37 percent of all Porsches sold in the month.

http://www.autonews.com/article/201...o-sales?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

mikeavelli

I wonder why the huge lift in NX/RX hybrid sales too....

spwolf

they adjusted the pricing and equipment levels to make hybrids more affordable, few months ago... now supply is catching with demand.

WardsAuto quantifies those jumps as +88.6% for its NXh and +116.1% for the RXh.

now a new GX & LX is a must

Please lexus...please update the IS and GS! It's so sad to see them like this. languishing against the competition. One can blame the rise of the SUVs for their slow demise but really...in my mind anyway...the trend seems to be that the older the model is, the worse it performs. As seen in the GX and LX...GS and IS.

Joaquin Ruhi

WardsAuto quantifies those jumps as +88.6% for its NXh and +116.1% for the RXh.

That's really, really impressive!!

Selling cars of any type is such a difficult proposition right now, so, seeing LS at ~900 when they set the goal at 1,000 a month is pretty good IMO when you consider market trends.

With so many sedans falling off the map and manufacturers throwing all of their R&D at crossovers, it makes the entire passenger car segment look limited and feel less exciting. It seems like there's a new SUV every week, and that just gives the light truck segment more overall consumer interest. It's only going to get harder for sedans from here on out.

Lexus used to be pretty good about making small cosmetic updates to models over different model years and not just at the mid-cycle refresh, and maybe they should return to this model to help sales. I think sedan sales are going to be all about what's new and flashy for a brief time, and then sales will fade. Quite frankly, probably a lot like the coupe market has historically performed.

Adding CarPlay + suspension adjustments to LS for 2019 was a great move. LS F and LC F for 2020 will be a great additions, as well as ES AWD for 2020. They should also try to experiment with different appearance packages, wheel options, paint colors, interior colors, etc. All of these things can help to restore some consumer interest and give a car a little more flair.

Gecko

LS close to 1k again is pretty good. Fingers crossed that the momentum is sustained :)

Yes encouraging number, but where is the V8 turbo for this car? Lexus need it to compete in this part of the market.
Lexus really do take their time with changes or improvements however the benefit of this patience is definitely felt in the ownership of their trouble free motor cars,
.

I don't think they need need a V8 turbo to compete, but it will certainly be welcome. The vast majority of Germans go out the door with the base engine, and Millenials who largely associate "V8" with "dead polar bears" are starting to come into the age range where cars of this type sell.

Rob Grieveson

Yes encouraging number, but where is the V8 turbo for this car? Lexus need it to compete in this part of the market.

LS F.

There have been rumors of an optional, non-F V8 but I think with the market contracting, the chances of that are zero.

I just realized that Lexus is pulling over four billion dollars in revenue on just the RX in the US this year. That's insane money to me. Profit is another matter, but I'm sure they're raking it in. Combine that with the 1 million+ Camrys, Corollas, and Rav4s sold pulling another twenty billion this year alone...

I cannot believe Audi passed 200k. I mean their story the past decade or so it just incredible. They were a mere afterthought in the USA just 20 years ago. Truly an amazing story.

mikeavelli

I cannot believe Audi passed 200k. I mean their story the past decade or so it just incredible. They were a mere afterthought in the USA just 20 years ago. Truly an amazing story.

being from Europe, Audi is one of the largest luxury manufacturers in the world... not to mention that VW is #1. So this is still bad but getting better for Audi, and whole VW group is laughable in the NA - outsold by a Subaru, who is a footnote in the rest of the world.

spwolf

being from Europe, Audi is one of the largest luxury manufacturers in the world... not to mention that VW is #1. So this is still bad but getting better for Audi, and whole VW group is laughable in the NA - outsold by a Subaru, who is a footnote in the rest of the world.

Yes I'm very familar with Audi's position. I'll be back in Europe Friday morning actually for the Essen Motor Show.

VW is a joke here.

mikeavelli

Yes I'm very familar with Audi's position. I'll be back in Europe Friday morning actually for the Essen Motor Show.

VW is a joke here.

Especially with dieselgate...I do notice that the VW Atlas is everywhere here in the L.A. area. To me the Atlas looks bland/boring and it appears that the majority of the public are unaware about dieselgate. The location where they discovered VW's diesel cheating is here in the city of El Monte which is next door to where I live.

mikeavelli

Yes I'm very familar with Audi's position. I'll be back in Europe Friday morning actually for the Essen Motor Show.

VW is a joke here.

I know you know :).

Point was, they have a large, full lineup of vehicles, so success has to come. A1, A3, A3 Sedan, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, Q1, Q2, Q3, Q5, Q7, Q8, TT, R8... smallest two dont get sold in the US, otherwise huge lineup of nice vehicles.

Trexus

Especially with dieselgate...I do notice that the VW Atlas is everywhere here in the L.A. area. To me the Atlas looks bland/boring and it appears that the majority of the public are unaware about dieselgate. The location where they discovered VW's diesel cheating is here in the city of El Monte which is next door to where I live.

overall VW sales are down I think even this year (VW), or it was at least down in November.

So they are doing laughably horrible.

spwolf

overall VW sales are down I think even this year (VW), or it was at least down in November.

So they are doing laughably horrible.

They'd be doing even worse than that if not for the relative success of Tiguan and Atlas.

Joaquin Ruhi

They'd be doing even worse than that if not for the relative success of Tiguan and Atlas.

consider this - Tiguan is hot on Rav4's heels in the fight for most sold CUV worldwide, easily outselling Camry, as of October 2018.

https://focus2move.com/world-best-selling-car/

And in the USA, it sold 7k of all new version vs 40k for Rav4 :)

Just tells you how much of the failure that is, considering US got its own model of Tiguan.

Keep in mind some main points
1) VAG is group of 8 companies while Toyota is only 2 max 3 by adding Daihatsu, and if only if Toyota takes only Subaru or Mazda they will top up again
2) Toyota R&D is much more than VAG
3) VAG decreased in 2017 and this continued in 2018 while Toyota keep increasing , the same goes with Audi & Lexus especially in China
4) Toyota Hybrid, FC & SS is much more future solid proof than the current lithium that VAG is turned to it
5) Aus. , NZ / Oceania & all SE Asia are Toyota with India more towards Suzuki / Daihatsu / Tata & Mahindra
6) Regarding the Tiguan / RAV4 , the RAV4 is just in its last days this year compared to the nearly fresh Tiguan with only 1 year on sale , so let's talk numbers in the same time next year as both will have a total year on sale

maiaramdan

Keep in mind some main points
1) VAG is group of 8 companies while Toyota is only 2 max 3 by adding Daihatsu, and if only if Toyota takes only Subaru or Mazda they will top up again
2) Toyota R&D is much more than VAG
3) VAG decreased in 2017 and this continued in 2018 while Toyota keep increasing , the same goes with Audi & Lexus especially in China
4) Toyota Hybrid, FC & SS is much more future solid proof than the current lithium that VAG is turned to it
5) Aus. , NZ / Oceania & all SE Asia are Toyota with India more towards Suzuki / Daihatsu / Tata & Mahindra
6) Regarding the Tiguan / RAV4 , the RAV4 is just in its last days this year compared to the nearly fresh Tiguan with only 1 year on sale , so let's talk numbers in the same time next year as both will have a total year on sale

In Finland VW used to be number one but has recently lost top position to Toyota and fell to third behind Škoda. This years bestselling models are Nissan Qashqai, Škoda Octavia, Toyota Avensis and Toyota Auris.
In all of Europe VW is losing ground to Toyota, Nissan and Renault. People even think that Škoda is more goodlooking than VW cars. Polo, Golf and Passat are very "Grey" cars. It's funny that Škoda is stepping on VW's foot with the new Scala. Audis are boring too they look like Seats. I think Octavia is only VAG model that has unique looks. It's a great car and my girlfriend has it. I've driven it few thousand kilometres, very fun to drive. Second problem is engines every model is either TSI or TDI. They are great engines but lack of choice is frustrating. I've driven 2.0 TDI and 1.4 TSI. Latter was Octavia and TDI Passat.

And VAG is bleeding market share in their biggest market China. Their sales are like -15% Y2Y which shows their mostly budget-oriented lineup and the strategy of milking every cent from old tooling is no longer working.

Other than following the hype and throwing money at EV, I don't see what else VW has in mind for a long-term strategy. I mean, Industry 4.0 is supposed to be Germany's greatest invention of the decade right? How has this 'fourth industrial revolution' benefited VW? Toyota swallowed a bitter pill to focus on TNGA which is now paying off.

spwolf

being from Europe, Audi is one of the largest luxury manufacturers in the world... not to mention that VW is #1. So this is still bad but getting better for Audi, and whole VW group is laughable in the NA - outsold by a Subaru, who is a footnote in the rest of the world.

Looking at the Global 500, the top 5 in the automotive group are and the sales are based off of a fiscal year as oppose to calendar year so number 1 and 2 fluctuate with each other.

1. Toyota Motor $265,172,000,000
2. Volkswagen $260,028,000,000
3. Daimler $185,235,000,000
4. General Motors $157,311,000,000
5. Ford Motor $156,776,000,000

Audi is a wholly owned subsidiary of VW whereas Lexus is a (luxury) division of Toyota.

Trexus

Looking at the Global 500, the top 5 in the automotive group are and the sales are based off of a fiscal year as oppose to calendar year so number 1 and 2 fluctuate with each other.

1. Toyota Motor $265,172,000,000
2. Volkswagen $260,028,000,000
3. Daimler $185,235,000,000
4. General Motors $157,311,000,000
5. Ford Motor $156,776,000,000

Audi is a wholly owned subsidiary of VW whereas Lexus is a (luxury) division of Toyota.

usually this is tracked by vehicle sales, not revenues... Toyota also has fully owned suppliers that would increase its revenues. In vehicle sales, TMC will be 3rd this year - and more profitable than #1 and #2 combined :) (Renault/Mitsu/Nissan and VW group).