Lexus Enthusiast-September 2015 Auto Sales Thread

[mikeavelli]

http://pressroom.toyota.com/releases/toyota+lexus+scion+september+2015+sales+release.htm

Toyota Division Remains Retail Sales Leader in Third Quarter

• Highlander posts best-ever sales
• Scion iM and iA post combined sales of 3,388 units
• Lexus LUV up 36.4 percent

October 01, 2015
September 2015 Sales Chart
September 2015 Sales Conference Call (audio clip)


TORRANCE, Calif. (Oct. 1, 2015) – Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., today reported September 2015 sales of 194,370 units, an increase of 16.2 percent from September 2014 on a volume basis. With one more selling day in September 2015 than in September 2014, sales were up 11.5 percent on a daily selling rate (DSR) basis.

Toyota Division posted September 2015 sales of 169,076 units, up 16.3 percent on a volume and 11.6 percent on a DSR basis.

"Auto industry sales continue to accelerate at a strong pace,” said Bill Fay, Toyota Division group vice president and general manager. “Toyota Division sales were up over 16 percent in September, led by best-ever sales of RAV4 and Highlander.”

Lexus reported September 2015 sales of 25,294 units, up 15.8 percent from September 2014 on a volume basis and 11.1 percent on a DSR basis.

“Lexus’ robust sales performance continues to be driven by our luxury utility vehicles. The outgoing RX maintained its segment dominance while the GX enjoyed another solid month,” said Jeff Bracken group vice president and general manager of the Lexus division. “With this momentum and the arrival of new models like the 2016 RX, RC 200t, IS 200t and GS 200t, Lexus is well positioned to finish the fourth quarter strong.”

September 2015 Highlights:

• TCUV sales post best-ever third quarter
• Total Toyota passenger car up 19 percent
• Corolla up 29.7 percent with sales of 26,636 units
• Camry up 21 percent for the month
• Prius up 12.4 percent
• Scion iM and iA post combined sales of 3,388 units
• Total TMS light trucks up 13.2 percent
• Highlander up almost 18 percent; posts best-ever sales
• 4Runner up 31.5 percent
• RAV4 up almost 19 percent
• Sequoia up over 36 percent
• Tacoma and Tundra post combined sales of 19,637 units
• Lexus luxury utility vehicles up 36.4 percent
• All-new NX posts sales of 3,113 units
• All-new RC posts sales of 1,159 units
• GX up 2.6 percent; posts sales of 1,611 units
• RX up 4.1 percent

*Note: Unless otherwise stated, all figures reflect unadjusted raw sales volume

 

[mikeavelli]

Saved for Comparison Figures (will be updated constantly today)
YTD
BMW- 249,956
Mercedes- 249,840
Lexus- 247,445




Luxury & Entry Level Luxury Brands
Mercedes- 28,373
BMW- 26,608
Lexus- 25,294
Buick- 18,341
Audi- 17,340
Cadillac- 14,901
Acura- 14,704
Infiniti- 10,220
Lincoln- 8,680
Volvo-
Porsche- 4,424

Flagship
S-class- 1,956
A8- 441
LS- 406
Panamera-
7 series- 134
Equus-
K900-

Mid-Size
5 series- 4,059
E-class- 4,006
A6- 1,713
GS- 1,595
CTS- 1,319
Q70- 622
MKS- 503
RLX/RL- 174
S80-

Entry Level Lux
3series- 9,145
C-class- 7,154
ES-5,195
TLX- 4,753
Lacrosse- 3,880
Q50- 3,557
IS- 3,152
A3- 2,712
MKZ- 2,490
ATS- 2,295
A4- 2,221
CLA- 2,089
Regal- 1,728
CT- 1,131
S60-
1/2 series- 1,078
Q40- 155

Midsize Luxury Coupes
4series- 2,746
RC- 1,159
A5- 945
Q60- 258

Small SUV
Q5- 5,149
RDX- 3,848
NX- 3,113
X3- 3,033
GLK- 2,056
MKC- 2,039
XC60-
Macan-
X4- 475
QX50- 263

Midsize SUV
RX- 7,759
SRX- 6,849
Enclave- 4,732
MDX- 4,313
QX60- 3,845
M-class- 2,679
X5- 2,525
MKX- 2,136
Q7- 1,941
GX- 1,611
Cayenne-
Touareg- 638
QX70- 476
MKT- 430
X6- 333
ZDX- 0

Flagship SUV
Escalade- 2,709
GL- 2,449
Navigator- 1,082
QX80- 1,044
G-wagon- 209
LX- 172

Other Coupes
Mustang- 9,456
Challenger-
Camaro- 5,246
Corvette- 2,572
911/918-
Boxster/Cayman-
370Z- 573
SLK- 339
CLS- 299
6series- 265
SL- 259
TT- 187
i8-182
AMG GT- 109
Z4- 96
GTR-38
ELR- 36
Viper-
Alpha4C-
R8- 14
LFA- 1

 

[mikeavelli]

http://pressroom.toyota.com/releases/tms+september+2015+sales+conference+notes.htm

September 2015 Sales Conference Notes
October 01, 2015
September 2015 Sales Conference Call
Thursday, October 1, 2015

September 2015 Sales Conference Call (audio clip)

Toyota Chief Communications Officer Scott Vazin:

Good morning and thank you for joining us to review Toyota, Scion and Lexus sales results for September, 3rd quarter, and the first nine months of 2015.

Joining us and speaking today will be:

• Bill Fay, Group Vice President and General Manager of the Toyota Division
• Jeff Bracken, Group Vice President and General Manager of the Lexus Division

And also joining us for the first time today is:

• Andrew Gilleland, Vice President of Scion Division

A recording of the call will be available at pressroom.Toyota.com about one hour after this call and our communications team is available to field any additional questions you may have @ (310) 468-5297.

Now I’d like to turn it over to Bill for a look at September and the most recent quarter.


Bill Fay:
Thank you, Scott.
Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us today.

As Scott just mentioned, in addition to the usual cast of characters, we are pleased to welcome Andrew Gilleland, our new Vice President of Scion, replacing Doug Murtha, who now leads Corporate Strategy and Planning for Toyota in North America.

Now, since our last quarterly call

The U.S. economy has

• Continued to see GDP growth,
• Gasoline prices
  • That have declined about 10 percent
• And interest rates
  • Which remain stable
  • but may be raised in the 4th quarter
• Housing saw construction activity accelerating
• And Consumer confidence
  • reached its highest level since September 2007

With these strong economic conditions as a back drop:

• The industry saw a continued strong sales pace for the month of September
  • with more than 1.4 million vehicles sold,
  • up 14.3 percent on a volume basis from last year

The Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate for new car sales

• Soared in September
• reaching 18.1 million,
• the highest SAAR for September since 2000,
• and the largest sales volume for the month of September since 2004.
• The strength of the auto industry as a whole is evident
• as 4 of the last 5 months have seen SAAR rates above 17.5 million

For the month of September, Toyota, Lexus, and Scion

• had combined total sales of 194,370,
• Up 16.2% on a volume basis

And with nine months finished in 2015

• The combined Toyota, Lexus, and Scion sales
  • Are more than 1,867,000
  • Marking an increase of 4% from last year

For the Toyota division,

• Sales in September of 169,076,
• were up 16.3 percent on a volume basis,
• and 11.6 percent on a DSR basis for the month
  • our best September since 2007
• And we saw our best third quarter results in over 8 years

In divisional light truck sales, Toyota posted

• Best-ever September and third quarter results for Highlander
• and a best-ever September for RAV4
• while Sienna saw its best September and third quarter since 2006
• And 4Runner also had a strong month, over 30 percent

In pickup truck sales,

• The new 2016 Tacoma launched
  • Leading to a transition month with sell down from the prior model year
• Tacoma had its best third quarter since 2006
• Climbing more than 12% over the past three months

For Passenger cars

• We recorded our best September results since 2007
• Including a best September and third quarter for Corolla since 2006,
• a best September for both Camry and Avalon since 2007,
• and we achieved our 2nd best September sales results on Prius Family in total.

Also in September,

• Two new Scion models, the iA and iM,
  • Went on sale September 1
  • and led Scion to its best month in more than two years.
• We also received strong interest from nearly 1,900 hand raisers for the Hydrogren Fuel Cell-powered Mirai, and
  • Toyota will begin placing the first trailblazing customers in the Mirai driver’s seat this month
• And Toyota Certified Used Vehicle had its best ever September, third quarter
  • demonstrating attraction to the Toyota brand, whether it be a new vehicle or pre-owned

After nine months

• Toyota continues its surge in the SUV segment
  • With RAV4 sales of 227,000, up 12.7 percent for the year
  • And Highlander is up 10.7 percent with more than 116,000 year-to-date
• Passenger cars
  • Remained relatively flat, as expected,
  • though Corolla is 7.7 percent ahead of last year, with 278,742 units sold

Looking forward to the final quarter

• We are confident that
  • The fourth quarter will remain strong for the auto industry, hitting and possibly exceeding the projected 17.1 million vehicles forecast for the year

Thank you. Now, at this time, I will turn it over to Jeff Bracken to talk about Lexus.


Jeff Bracken:

Thank you, Bill.

This has been a strong year, by any measure, for the general market, and especially for the luxury segment.

Our Lexus Dealers sold 25,294 vehicles for the month of September

• resulting in an increase of 16% over last year

And our Lexus year-to-date sales now total more than 247,000

• an overall increase of 12.1% versus this point last year

Utility vehicle sales continue to drive the industry

• and Lexus is no exception, up 36 percent for the month, or 28 percent for the year
• Total luxury utility vehicle sales exceeded 12,500 for the month of September
• Led, of course, by RX, retaining its #1 sales position in the luxury SUV ranks with more than 7,700 units sold
• This performance is significant given our 16MY, 4th generation RX arrives in showrooms in just over a month from now

The NX

• continues to expand our reach into the luxury consumer realm by attracting new buyers to the Lexus brand
• with sales of just over 3,000 in September,
• the total year-to-date count for NX is nearly 32,000
• Considering the consistent performance of RX, the NX volume represents a strong incremental sales element for our Lexus brand.

As for GX

• Lexus Dealers sold just over 1,600 in September, up 2.6 percent for the month and up 11.6 percent for the year.

And we have every reason to believe

• the luxury utility vehicle market will see continued growth throughout the remainder of the calendar year.
• Our Lexus Dealers are only limited by utility vehicle availability at this time,
• As market demand continues to outpace supply.

Consistent with the luxury car industry,

• Lexus passenger car sales now total more than 125,000 yer-to-date
• Effectively even with last year
• and our all-new RC coupes now accounts for a 16 percent share of the luxury sports coupe market,
• a healthy start for an all-new model to such a dynamic segment

Switching gears, Lexus L Certified, or pre-owned sales volume for September resulted in the

• 14th consecutive best-ever month totaling 7,192 sales,
• Our highest quarterly pre-owned volume ever at 21,500, and
• Our third consecutive month of 7,000 or more pre-owned sales.
• Pre-owned volume is now up 17 percent year-to-date.

And we still have a lot to look forward to in the 4th quarter beginning with

• A number of model and engine updates, including minor updates to the ES –
• Which begins assembly at our Georgetown, Kentucky plant this October 19th,
• Marking the first time a Lexus product has been manufactured in the United States.
• Also, this quarter, we’ll see the launch of the 4th generation RX, a refreshed LX and all-new GS F,
• the introduction of 2.0 liter turbo engines for IS, RC, and GS models, and
• the arrival of hybrid models for the next generation RX and minor change ES.

And all this, bundled into our December to Remember sales event - - - what a great glide path to finish our best year ever !!

Thank you for joining us today, and now we’d like to open the call up to any questions you may have.

 

[mmcartalk]

Thanks for posting, Mike.

VW sales were probably hampered in the final week of September by the scandal.

One question, Mike............could this be a typo?

Small SUV
Q5- 5,149
RDX-
NX- 3,113
MKC- 2,039

I suspect that should be Q3...which the MKC and NX directly compete against, not the larger Q5.

 

[mikeavelli]

Thanks for posting, Mike.

VW sales were probably hampered in the final week of September by the scandal.

One question, Mike............could this be a typo?



I suspect that should be Q3...which the MKC and NX directly compete against, not the larger Q5.

It seems VW sales were up .56%..I assume they were up a bit until the end of the month. I suspect October will be brutal for them. Honestly who even believes their numbers and results? (Just kidding)
http://media.vw.com/release/1080


The MKC and NX compete agains the Q5, they are the same size and price. The Q3 is absolutely tiny compared to them and goes against the GLA which is also tiny.

 

[mmcartalk]

It seems VW sales were up .56%..I assume they were up a bit until the end of the month. I suspect October will be brutal for them. Honestly who even believes their numbers and results? (Just kidding)

Well, not only that, but another question is how many vehicles VW may ultimately have to buy BACK?

The MKC and NX compete agains the Q5, they are the same size and price. The Q3 is absolutely tiny compared to them and goes against the GLA which is also tiny.

According to the web sites, though, the NX200t, MKC, and Q3 all start at the same base price...33-34K. (the Q5 starts at over 40K) That was another reason why I asked. But, I guess, in the auto sales business, class-comparisons aren't as important as the numbers themselves....that's where the money and profits come from, no matter who competes with who.

 

[Gecko]

"Our Lexus Dealers are only limited by utility vehicle availability at this time."

Bring on the three row crossover!!!

 

[mmcartalk]

"Our Lexus Dealers are only limited by utility vehicle availability at this time."

Bring on the three row crossover!!!

There's been so many calls for that, both in this Lexus forum and others, that I can't imagine them turning a deaf ear. But then, again, I've found some auto marketers to be as exasperating as trying to get somewhere in D.C. or L.A. traffic LOL.

 

[mikeavelli]

Sorry everyone so slammed right now. I hope to finish up the list tonight or tomorrow.

 

[mmcartalk]

Sorry everyone so slammed right now. I hope to finish up the list tonight or tomorrow.

Take whatever time you need, Mike. We appreciate whatever you get done.

 

[mikeavelli]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/porsche-very-lucky-building-two-205307027.html

In September, 56% of the Porsches sold were SUVs; 57% of the of 39,300 cars the company has sold in the US this year have been Cayennes and Macans.

 

[IS-SV]

Mike - Thanks for this monthly report, always appreciated.

^ Wow (me being a bit like some of the Porsche purists), but we know what pays the bills at Porsche these days.

 

[mikeavelli]

Mike - Thanks for this monthly report, always appreciated.

^ Wow (me being a bit like some of the Porsche purists), but we know what pays the bills at Porsche these days.

Smart move on their part. I see them all over Miami, I'm sure you do too. With the sub Panamera coming Porsche is a case study in how to expand your brand properly.

Crazy to think just 2 decades ago the only car they sold I believe with the 911 (993).

 

[Gecko]

57% of Porsches sold are utility vehicles.

Dang.

This is the new normal!

 

[mmcartalk]

Crazy to think just 2 decades ago the only car they sold I believe with the 911 (993).

That's correct.....at least in the American market. The Boxster was introduced here in 1997.

Supply/demand for the Boxster in its first couple of years was just nuts. A friend of mine (who owned one of my favorite local restaurants) ordered a new Boxster in March of 1997, when they first were released. You know when he actually took delivery? April of 1998....even with Porsche adding a second Boxster assembly-plant in Finland. His "new" car, on delivery day, for insurance and depreciation purposes, was already more than one model year old. If he wanted to, he probably could have resold it for what he paid for it...or more. In the long run, though, for him, that wasn't an issue..........he kept it a long time.

 

[Lexus Cohen]

Sorry everyone so slammed right now. I hope to finish up the list tonight or tomorrow.

Thanks for the hard work buddy!

 

[mikeavelli]

Inventory levels are going to come into play here for the sales crown. I can only imagine Incentives will be off the charts very soon.

 

[mikeavelli]

Really curious to see the results of the VW affair and its effect on sales....

 

[mmcartalk]

Really curious to see the results of the VW affair and its effect on sales....

Right now, of course, there is a stop-sale order on the diesels. That's from the company itself, not necessarily from buyer-rejection of the vehicles. There's simply no diesel sales, period.

 

[IS-SV]

Right now, of course, there is a stop-sale order on the diesels. That's from the company itself, not necessarily from buyer-rejection of the vehicles. There's simply no diesel sales, period.

2016 TDI's sitting at US ports, not available to public, known for weeks. TDI's were significant part (over 15%) of already declining VW US sales.

Yes, but astute US car buyers are not necessarily clamoring to buy any VW-branded products offered by an automaker mired in biggest fraud fiasco in automotive history. VW US knows this and is discounting accordingly. As Mike said and I agree, "really curious to see the results of the VW affair and its effect on sales..." TBD, as VW continues to get plenty of free press/advertising.