Lexus Sales in China Increase by 22% in 2017

Posted by Kevin on January 8th, 2018

Lexus sales in China are up 22% year-over-year with 132,900 vehicles sold in 2017. Leading sales for the lineup was the ES sedan, followed by the NX & RX crossovers.

Despite this strong sales growth, Lexus still lags behind other luxury manufacturers in the country. Based on CarSalesBase data, Audi remains the top selling luxury brand in China with a projected 565,000 units sold in 2017. Mercedes should finish second with approximately 440,000 sales, with BMW in third with a projected 380,000 units sold.

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Comments
maiaramdan
Guess whom will take the global title
Of course not Toyota but I think not VAG also maybe RNA
LDeleuran
I believe it will be Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi that takes the global title pushing around 11mil units. VAG takes second and Toyota third.


The Chinese numbers are worth celebrating in isolation, but this has to be put into perspective of the German competition. Audi, BMW and Mercedes have also had growth in this market.

Here are the numbers. Please note that the sales are without December 2017:
Audi:
2016: 509226
2017: 518228
+1.7% (Remember this is without December sales, and so are those below!)

BMW:
2016: 310000
2017: 349300
+13%. If we add 30.000 sales for December, BMW also posts 22% growth.

MB:
2016: 326690
2017: 404169
+23.7%. Add 35000 units for December and MB has increased its sales with more than 34%!
S
BBA are not pure luxury brands in most of the world outside North America. There are many 'pleb models' that contribute to a lot of growth. Lexus doesn't have these 'pleb models': they are called Toyota. If we take these out of the equation, MB is perhaps the one that truly shines with dominant presence in the high-value segment.

The strength of the ES is a living example of how much the badge is worth. A top-trim Camry is better in every respect than the ES200 (the entry-level ES even has cloth seats when the Camry offers reclining rear!) yet the ES200 became a surprise hit.
mikeavelli
They have to be super happy with this growth. I want to say just a few years ago they were stuggling.

2011 Sales were 49,000
https://lexusenthusiast.com/2011/03/29/looking-at-lexus-sales-in-china/

2015 Sales were 88,000
http://www.autonews.com/article/20160202/GLOBAL/160209978/lexus-reports-record-global-sales-in-2015;-aims-higher-in-2016

2016- 109,151
https://lexusenthusiast.com/2017/02/07/lexus-sets-global-sales-record-in-2016/

2017- 132,900

That is some serious growth in two years! Also note how the Germans have grown.
Tragic Bronson
Lexus has more China-centric models coming. Ze Germans have been there for awhile, so they had the head start.
S
Tragic Bronson
Lexus has more China-centric models coming. Ze Germans have been there for awhile, so they had the head start.
these re very good numbers, i guess nxt up is finally Lexus factory in China?

Import taxes are high, local production fo tnga platform would be beneficial.
S
spwolf
these re very good numbers, i guess nxt up is finally Lexus factory in China?

Import taxes are high, local production fo tnga platform would be beneficial.
It will be an ugly battle between FAW and GAC for production rights I guess. So far the two lives in peaceful coexistence by mutually conceding market segments. The Lexus deal will probably escalate into something like the DFW-GAC rivalry where the two Hondas try hard to kill each other.

I personally have no problems with NX/ES made in China, seeing how GAC makes a higher quality Camry than TMMK which also produces the NA-spec ES. Lower labor cost, no union presence, and higher vehicle prices means less pressure to cut costs like TMMK faces right now.
krew
spwolf
these re very good numbers, i guess nxt up is finally Lexus factory in China?

Import taxes are high, local production fo tnga platform would be beneficial.

Absolutely agree -- these are good numbers considering Lexus imports all vehicles instead of building locally. To make a bigger impact, local production is a must.

Even so, I still think it will be some time before we see China-built Lexus vehicles.
Ian Schmidt
Yeah, quality will be a concern for locally-built China Lexuses. Apple and others have proven you can get top-notch quality out of China if you keep a good eye on them; Toyota is likely stocking up on good eyes as we speak.
Tragic Bronson
krew
Absolutely agree -- these are good numbers considering Lexus imports all vehicles instead of building locally. To make a bigger impact, local production is a must.

Even so, I still think it will be some time before we see China-built Lexus vehicles.
They just need to address the local market first. If there is a China plant, I doubt they need to export any local production outside of the home market.

T