Lexus UK Forecasts 20% Sales Growth This Year

[Joaquin Ruhi]

Lexus sales in UK to grow by 20% this year
Luxury car maker claims arrival of UX plus hybrid focus will help it flourish
by Rachel Burgess
22 February 2019

Lexus sales in the UK are set to rise by more than 20% this year, according to the car maker, thanks largely to the introduction of its UX compact SUV.

That forms part of a bigger goal to sell 20,000 cars by 2021, making up a fifth of Lexus’s intended 100,000 European sales. Last year, the brand sold 12,405 units in the UK.

UK boss Ewan Shepherd told Autocar that growth would come this year, despite broader market conditions. “Irrespective of the economy, people are walking towards hybrid and away from diesel. That lets us control our own destiny,” he said.

The UX, on sale in March, is offered only as a “self-charging” hybrid, and Lexus believes it will be an appealing, cost-effective alternative to diesel-powered cars. This year, it expects to sell almost 4000 UXs, rising to 6000 next year – a figure that could be even higher, said Shepherd, if it wasn’t for limited supply from Japan.

Lexus has traditionally sold in far smaller numbers than its German rivals, something that is largely down to awareness, added Shepherd. “The LC is the first big car we could tell the story behind but it’s in an inaccessible segment,” he said. “Now we have the UX, which is in a very accessible segment.”

Shepherd doesn’t expect Lexus to ever reach the sales heights of BMW or Audi, but said the EU goal is 150,000 units by 2025. By comparison, BMW sold one million cars in Europe last year.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/lexus-sales-uk-grow-20-year

 

[krew]

krew

Lexus UK Forecasts 20% Sales Growth This Year

All thanks to the UX crossover.

View the original article post

 

[Rob Grieveson]

I believe the UX will sell well in South Africa as well and should be very good for the overall visibility of the Lexus Brand which has been slow to take off here mainly due South Africa's love affair with the German brands. However we are seeing more and more Lexus on the roads now and the UX will greatly assist with this I believe. A large percentage of SUV sold here are diesel powered and they are well liked for the torque they provide and the Hybrid does not seem to have caught on here and of course there are no incentives to buy the hybrid models.

 

[zander]

Went to trade in my CT lease on Friday. I really didn’t like the UX when I finally saw it. Interior and front exterior were beautiful but it fell apart at the rear. The cargo area was not flat at the entry, dips down like a sedan trunk, and the rear looks just as ugly in person as I thought from the pictures. I feel like it will be more of a niche car here in CA and the rest of US.
Very dismayed at first, I went home with a brand new NX300. It’s huge but gorgeous and drives like a dream, at least compared with my CT. I don’t know why the NX gets so much hate. The styling is beautiful and more understated and less polarizing than the RX. NX Interior is luxurious. Every feature I can want including Apple CarPlay which the reviewers on many sites say is unavailable to NX. I absolutely love it, so thank you, Lexus, even though the UX didn’t work out.

 

[Rob Grieveson]

Wish you well with the NX - a beaut!

 

[RAL]

Went to trade in my CT lease on Friday. I really didn’t like the UX when I finally saw it. Interior and front exterior were beautiful but it fell apart at the rear. The cargo area was not flat at the entry, dips down like a sedan trunk, and the rear looks just as ugly in person as I thought from the pictures. I feel like it will be more of a niche car here in CA and the rest of US.
Very dismayed at first, I went home with a brand new NX300. It’s huge but gorgeous and drives like a dream, at least compared with my CT. I don’t know why the NX gets so much hate. The styling is beautiful and more understated and less polarizing than the RX. NX Interior is luxurious. Every feature I can want including Apple CarPlay which the reviewers on many sights say is unavailable to NX. I absolutely love it so thank you lexus even though the UX didn’t work out.

Congratulations on your new NX300! ... so pleased with our '15 NX200t ... when our lease matured we traded for the '19 NX300, once again in Atomic Silver. Appreciate the refresh and the new safety system is a welcome addition.

 

[zander]

Congratulations on your new NX300! ... so pleased with our '15 NX200t ... when our lease matured we traded for the '19 NX300, once again in Atomic Silver. Appreciate the refresh and the new safety system is a welcome addition.

Nice, I got Caviar. I’m worried about trade in value (resale). My CT was only worth 14k (residual was 20k) after 36 months and got dinged with the negative equity. I had no major ware and tear and no accidents but they said the value drops significantly. Were you able to get the same payment and down payment with NX?

 

[zander]

Wish you well with the NX - a beaut!

Thanks I agree.

 

[RAL]

Nice, I got Caviar. I’m worried about trade in value (resale). My CT was only worth 14k (residual was 20k) after 36 months and got dinged with the negative equity. I had no major ware and tear and no accidents but they said the value drops significantly. Were you able to get the same payment and down payment with NX?

I would say no worries; you should do well. I actually got a better deal the second time around. Unlike the discontinued CT in the US, the NX is Lexus' second best seller, second only to the RX. I would venture to say dealers make a greater percentage of profit on a pre-owned NX. Our trade was only on the lot a day before it re-sold.