USA
Lexus USA has reported total sales of 20,140 for March 2012, which is down 6.1% compared to last year — as always, here are the model-by-model stats:
| MONTH | Year to Date (*DSR) | |||||
| 2012 | 2011 | % CHG* | 2012 | 2011 | % CHG* | |
| CT | 2,223 | 2,199 | ‐2.5 | 4,890 | 2,199 | 116.6 |
| HS | 261 | 230 | 9.4 | 563 | 699 | ‐21.5 |
| IS | 2,717 | 2,956 | ‐11.4 | 6,622 | 7,029 | ‐8.2 |
| ES | 3,141 | 3,732 | ‐18.8 | 8,548 | 8,545 | ‐2.6 |
| GS | 2,558 | 431 | 472.3 | 5,048 | 1,103 | 345.8 |
| LS | 573 | 941 | ‐41.3 | 1,663 | 2,381 | ‐32.0 |
| SC | 0 | 6 | ‐100.0 | 2 | 14 | ‐86.1 |
| LFA | 4 | 8 | ‐51.8 | 14 | 17 | ‐19.8 | Total Cars | 11,477 | 10,503 | 5.4 | 27,350 | 21,987 | 21.2 |
| RX | 7,057 | 8,600 | ‐20.9 | 17,887 | 21,048 | ‐17.2 |
| GX | 940 | 1,238 | ‐26.8 | 2,521 | 3,424 | ‐28.3 |
| LX | 666 | 341 | 88.3 | 1,338 | 897 | 45.3 |
| Total Trucks | 8,663 | 10,179 | ‐17.9 | 21,746 | 25,369 | ‐16.5 |
| Total Sales | 20,140 | 20,682 | ‐6.1 | 49,096 | 47,356 | 1.0 |
Please note, all percentages are calculated by the Daily Sales Rate (DSR), which takes into account the number of days in the month that dealerships could sell cars.
Despite being down 6.1% over last year, there’s a lot of positive news in these numbers — here’s some quotes from Lexus General Manager Mark Templin from the monthly sales conference call earlier today:
We sold 20,140 vehicles in March. While that was down slightly from year ago levels, sales were up 21 percent vs. February. Car sales showed continued strength with an increase of 9.3 percent over last March.
The new GS continues to exceed our expectations. We sold 2,558 units in March…and dealers are turning them at a blistering rate. In fact, as of last week, GS had already exceeded its total 2011 sales.
Just looking over the numbers, this is what I see:
- With another 2,500 units sold, the GS is off to a stellar start — and that’s without the flagship GS 450h, which arrives to dealrships in April.
- The CT 200h launched in March of last year, so the fact that sales are still in the same ballpark is excellent news for the model.
- It’s going to be interesting to see what happens to RX sales once the 2013 update launches — especially with the new RX F Sport available.
- LX sales are booming, and proves how important the mid-cycle refreshes are to the bottom line.
(One last thing from the conference call, it looks like the next-generation ES will be arriving later in the summer.)
Canada
Lexus sales in Canada were down 8.8% compared to last year, with 1,288 total sales. However, much like in the USA, Lexus car sales were up 7.5%, with the new GS 350 seeing a 1,100% increase over last year with 144 sales.
The refreshed LX 570 also performed well, with sales hitting 46 units, up 142.1%.
[Source: Lexus USA & Lexus Canada]