Lexus chases 100,000 annual sales after design revolution
The brand has targeted growing European sales from 75,000 to at least 100,000 cars a year by 2020
by
Jim Holder - 3 August 2018
The consistent family look
Lexus has given its model range will help the company achieve its goal of breaking through the 100,000 sales barrier, according to new European boss Pascal Ruch.
At the launch of the new
UX compact SUV, Ruch said that Lexus now has a complete range of cars designed in the same style and suggested that the consistency would help broaden its appeal.
“When we started the new era of Lexus – and especially Lexus design – in 2012, every new car became a milestone,” said Ruch. “Now we have a consistent line-up. We now have what we need.”
Ruch has targeted growing European sales from 75,000 to at least 100,000 cars a year by 2020, but stressed that growth couldn’t come at the expense of traditional Lexus selling points such as good service, reliability and quality.
“Quality in everything we do, from dealing with customers to delivering the best ownership experience, is in our DNA,” he said. “Growth must never come at the expense of that. But now customers know what to expect from Lexus. We have a consistent look and we have evolved as a brand.
“If you look at the
LF1- Limitless luxury SUV concept [revealed at the
Detroit motor show in January], you’ll note that it is an evolution of what we have established today. Our customers like what they see and we are comfortable now with polarising opinion. Now our job is to evolve all our cars in that consistent way.” Talking about the upheaval of introducing the radically different styling in 2012, Ruch said: “What we did was different and necessarily so. We arrived in 1989 as a disruptor brand. We laid foundations in quality and we have now taken that facet and applied it to something different.
“Lexus has always pioneered, from the first luxury SUV, to the first hybrid premium car, to the grille in 2012 and more – we keep making new stories.”
Asked if Lexus needed to do more to promote its pioneering successes, Ruch added: “Maybe we could do more, but what’s more important to me is that our customers understand it; that can be the only reason why we keep finishing in the top slot of customer surveys. There are no better accolades and advocates to have."