Lexus to Launch in Turkey This Year

[Tragic Bronson]

http://www.carscoops.com/2015/05/lexus-to-open-shop-in-turkey-as-premium.html

Did you know that Lexus was absent from Turkey? That's about to change as Japan's most successful premium carmaker will launch in the country this year.

The first showroom will open in the 4th quarter of 2015 with Lexus to display its lineup for the first time in Turkey at the 2015 Istanbul Autoshow from May 21.

Lexus said it projects Turkey's premium car sector to jump from 80,000 units this year to more than 100,000 annual sales in the very near future.

“This puts Turkey in the top 7 in Europe," said Alain Uyttenhoven, Head of Lexus Europe. "We are therefore extremely happy to launch Lexus in this strategic emerging market, together with our partner, Toyota Turkey Marketing and Sales.”

The automaker plans to open more dealerships in the country in the coming years.

Ali Haydar Bozkurt, President of Toyota Turkey Marketing and Sales commented: “There has been demand for Lexus in Turkey for a long time. With the renewal of the product range and the introduction of new 2.0l turbo engine options, we believe that this is the most appropriate timing to enter the market. Our aim is also to bring the Lexus standard of unparalleled customer experience to Turkish customers, which will create a unique positioning for Lexus.”

 

[mmcartalk]

Lexus said it projects Turkey's premium car sector to jump from 80,000 units this year to more than 100,000 annual sales in the very near future.

The automaker plans to open more dealerships in the country in the coming years

Sounds risky to me. First, it costs a fair amount of money to open up new dealerships, even if the brunt of the cost is borne by the franchise-owners and their financial backers investing in the dealerships, and not necessarily by Lexus itself. Second, even if the market for upmarket vehicles in that country does increase from 80,000 to 100,000 vehicles, that's roughly only 20%...and that 20% will (presumably) be shared not not only by Lexus, but any other upmarket brands operating in the country as well.

But then, of course, part of the very nature of business is a certain amount of risk...............

 

[mikeavelli]

I want to say Lexus opened in Chile recently and they expect annual sales to be 200 or so (don't quote me on that). They expect growth. This sounds like its no different. There is a thriving upper class in Turkey so this makes sense for Lexus.

 

[mmcartalk]

I want to say Lexus opened in Chile recently and they expect annual sales to be 200 or so (don't quote me on that). They expect growth. This sounds like its no different. There is a thriving upper class in Turkey so this makes sense for Lexus.

Well, that's true. You have a point....it's sometimes hard to predict what will sell and what won't. I myself thought that the Plymouth Prowler would have done better than it actually did, even though it was obviously an extreme-niche product and you had to tow a small matching trailer around to get any trunk space. Ditto for the 2Gen Acura RL...it was tank-solid in build quality, fit/finish, and with a superb AWD system.....and just sat on dealer lots collecting dust. Yet, some vehicles that you would not have guessed would be that popular (PT Cruiser, Chevy HHR, BMW X6) turned out to have a lot more appeal than expected.

 

[Gecko]

Great news! Thanks for sharing!

 

[krew]

krew

Lexus will launch in Turkey later this year, starting with a dealership in Istanbul.

View the original article post

 

[Tinhinnh]

They should've waited until Thanksgiving to launch new dealership in Turkey.

 

[mmcartalk]

They should've waited until Thanksgiving to launch new dealership in Turkey.

You should work for Jay Leno. He was always good at combining cars and comedy.

 

[BOSS]

They should've waited until Thanksgiving to launch new dealership in Turkey.

Hahahah lol

 

[bigcountry]

I hope they do well here and become the choice for those who want something different than the Germans - it will be interesting to see how they compete with the usual suspects. Not many Turks are aware of the legendary Lexus quality and utmost attention to detail it offers, so it may take some time to get the brand where it deserves to be.

The timing of entering this market definitely has to do with the new 2.0lt turbo engine as Turkey is heavily taxed in automotive. Fyi, up to 1.6lt we pay 45% (special consumption tax), for 1.6-2.0lt it is 90%, and above 2.0lt is 145%!! It was announced that Lexus portfolio will start from 80K euros going up to 300K euros in Turkey and this comes as no surprise when you factor in this ridiculous tax.

With the way things are going, it won't be long before we start riding horses here again

 

[Lexus Cohen]

I hope they do well here and become the choice for those who want something different than the Germans - it will be interesting to see how they compete with the usual suspects. Not many Turks are aware of the legendary Lexus quality and utmost attention to detail it offers, so it may take some time to get the brand where it deserves to be.

The timing of entering this market definitely has to do with the new 2.0lt turbo engine as Turkey is heavily taxed in automotive. Fyi, up to 1.6lt we pay 45% (special consumption tax), for 1.6-2.0lt it is 90%, and above 2.0lt is 145%!! It was announced that Lexus portfolio will start from 80K euros going up to 300K euros in Turkey and this comes as no surprise when you factor in this ridiculous tax.

With the way things are going, it won't be long before we start riding horses here again

Sounds like jamaica where they pay 200% for duty where the displacement is over 3.0l. A Toyota Landcruiser goes for over $20,000,000 jmd, that's equivalent to over $200,000 usd.

 

[rayaans]

If the execs have decent brains they'll be launching in India pretty soon. Huge market for luxury vehicles there. BMW's, Audi's and Merc's crawling all over the place in Mumbai and Delhi

 

[bigcountry]

I hope they do well here and become the choice for those who want something different than the Germans - it will be interesting to see how they compete with the usual suspects. Not many Turks are aware of the legendary Lexus quality and utmost attention to detail it offers, so it may take some time to get the brand where it deserves to be.

The timing of entering this market definitely has to do with the new 2.0lt turbo engine as Turkey is heavily taxed in automotive. Fyi, up to 1.6lt we pay 45% (special consumption tax), for 1.6-2.0lt it is 90%, and above 2.0lt is 145%!! It was announced that Lexus portfolio will start from 80K euros going up to 300K euros in Turkey and this comes as no surprise when you factor in this ridiculous tax.

With the way things are going, it won't be long before we start riding horses here again

Sounds like jamaica where they pay 200% for duty where the displacement is over 3.0l. A Toyota Landcruiser goes for over $20,000,000 jmd, that's equivalent to over $200,000 usd.

Sounds very familiar.. Forgot to mention: on top of the special consumption tax I mentioned above when you buy a new vehicle, there is also the vehicle registration tax each year which is roughly $8250 annually! for that new Land Cruiser.. It goes down gradually as the vehicle depreciates but still..