Lexus has adopted “self-charging hybrid” as a way to market their gas-electric powertrains in Europe, showcasing the technology’s key benefit over pure electric vehicles:
According to Lexus Europe executives, there’s still a percentage of consumers that believe that hybrids need to be charged like an EV vehicle. This campaign exists to educate about the differences between gas-electric and pure electric, with the main benefit of hybrid being that the gas engine charges the battery.
Due to the price of gas, the average European customer cares more about efficiency and less about horsepower, especially in comparison to North Americans. With Lexus being hybrid-only in most European markets, this is a key selling point and brings a different dynamic to the brand’s performance story.
The Lexus Europe strategy for selling hybrids appears to be working — last year marked five consecutive years of growth, combining for a 76% increase in sales since 2013. Sales are also up 5% overall in the first six months of 2019 with 40,450 units sold, and hybrids make up a stunning 70% of total volume.
(This year’s growth is driven by the launch of the UX crossover. After just 5 months of sales, the UX has sold 8,532 units and already makes up 21% of total European volume.)
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