gsfour
05-27-04, 01:26 PM
Here's in interesting article about Lexus moving into Japan from Reuters....
By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia auto correspondent
NAGOYA, Japan (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp. aims to oust its German rivals as the top sellers of luxury cars in Japan with plans to bring its Lexus brand, already the top U.S. luxury car, to Japanese drivers next year.
With a 43 percent share of Japan's car market, the world's second largest, Toyota is by far the dominant force on its home turf, but it has lagged in the luxury sector.
The world's number-two auto maker said on Wednesday it initially aimed to sell 50,000 to 60,000 Lexus cars a year in Japan and would eventually raise that to 100,000 -- or one-third of Japan's luxury car market.
"Lexus has been very well-received in the United States, but when we look at Toyota's place in the domestic luxury car market, it's unsatisfactory," Toyota Executive Vice President Kazushi Iwatsuki told a news conference.
"In order to become a global brand, we need it to succeed in Japan."
Toyota will launch the Lexus in Japan in August 2005 and roll out four new models in the first year, each bearing a design concept distinct from existing Lexus cars, which are currently sold in Japan under the Toyota brand.
The new models will eventually replace the Lexus LS, GS and IS sedans and the SC coupe already sold in most markets outside Japan.
"We intend to build the Lexus into the new global premium brand for the 21st century," Iwatsuki said.
But foreign marques, led by Mercedes-Benz and BMW, account for one-third of Japan's full-sized car market, selling 244,000 units last year.
Toyota's sales of high-end large sedans, meanwhile, fell below 8,000 units a month in 2003, from about 12,000 in 2000.
Read rest of article at this link: By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia auto correspondent
NAGOYA, Japan (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp. aims to oust its German rivals as the top sellers of luxury cars in Japan with plans to bring its Lexus brand, already the top U.S. luxury car, to Japanese drivers next year.
With a 43 percent share of Japan's car market, the world's second largest, Toyota is by far the dominant force on its home turf, but it has lagged in the luxury sector.
The world's number-two auto maker said on Wednesday it initially aimed to sell 50,000 to 60,000 Lexus cars a year in Japan and would eventually raise that to 100,000 -- or one-third of Japan's luxury car market.
"Lexus has been very well-received in the United States, but when we look at Toyota's place in the domestic luxury car market, it's unsatisfactory," Toyota Executive Vice President Kazushi Iwatsuki told a news conference.
"In order to become a global brand, we need it to succeed in Japan."
Toyota will launch the Lexus in Japan in August 2005 and roll out four new models in the first year, each bearing a design concept distinct from existing Lexus cars, which are currently sold in Japan under the Toyota brand.
The new models will eventually replace the Lexus LS, GS and IS sedans and the SC coupe already sold in most markets outside Japan.
"We intend to build the Lexus into the new global premium brand for the 21st century," Iwatsuki said.
But foreign marques, led by Mercedes-Benz and BMW, account for one-third of Japan's full-sized car market, selling 244,000 units last year.
Toyota's sales of high-end large sedans, meanwhile, fell below 8,000 units a month in 2003, from about 12,000 in 2000.
Read rest of article at this link: http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=HY2DAYPT1PPDYCRBAE0CF EY?type=reutersEdge&storyID=5263290
By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia auto correspondent
NAGOYA, Japan (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp. aims to oust its German rivals as the top sellers of luxury cars in Japan with plans to bring its Lexus brand, already the top U.S. luxury car, to Japanese drivers next year.
With a 43 percent share of Japan's car market, the world's second largest, Toyota is by far the dominant force on its home turf, but it has lagged in the luxury sector.
The world's number-two auto maker said on Wednesday it initially aimed to sell 50,000 to 60,000 Lexus cars a year in Japan and would eventually raise that to 100,000 -- or one-third of Japan's luxury car market.
"Lexus has been very well-received in the United States, but when we look at Toyota's place in the domestic luxury car market, it's unsatisfactory," Toyota Executive Vice President Kazushi Iwatsuki told a news conference.
"In order to become a global brand, we need it to succeed in Japan."
Toyota will launch the Lexus in Japan in August 2005 and roll out four new models in the first year, each bearing a design concept distinct from existing Lexus cars, which are currently sold in Japan under the Toyota brand.
The new models will eventually replace the Lexus LS, GS and IS sedans and the SC coupe already sold in most markets outside Japan.
"We intend to build the Lexus into the new global premium brand for the 21st century," Iwatsuki said.
But foreign marques, led by Mercedes-Benz and BMW, account for one-third of Japan's full-sized car market, selling 244,000 units last year.
Toyota's sales of high-end large sedans, meanwhile, fell below 8,000 units a month in 2003, from about 12,000 in 2000.
Read rest of article at this link: By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia auto correspondent
NAGOYA, Japan (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp. aims to oust its German rivals as the top sellers of luxury cars in Japan with plans to bring its Lexus brand, already the top U.S. luxury car, to Japanese drivers next year.
With a 43 percent share of Japan's car market, the world's second largest, Toyota is by far the dominant force on its home turf, but it has lagged in the luxury sector.
The world's number-two auto maker said on Wednesday it initially aimed to sell 50,000 to 60,000 Lexus cars a year in Japan and would eventually raise that to 100,000 -- or one-third of Japan's luxury car market.
"Lexus has been very well-received in the United States, but when we look at Toyota's place in the domestic luxury car market, it's unsatisfactory," Toyota Executive Vice President Kazushi Iwatsuki told a news conference.
"In order to become a global brand, we need it to succeed in Japan."
Toyota will launch the Lexus in Japan in August 2005 and roll out four new models in the first year, each bearing a design concept distinct from existing Lexus cars, which are currently sold in Japan under the Toyota brand.
The new models will eventually replace the Lexus LS, GS and IS sedans and the SC coupe already sold in most markets outside Japan.
"We intend to build the Lexus into the new global premium brand for the 21st century," Iwatsuki said.
But foreign marques, led by Mercedes-Benz and BMW, account for one-third of Japan's full-sized car market, selling 244,000 units last year.
Toyota's sales of high-end large sedans, meanwhile, fell below 8,000 units a month in 2003, from about 12,000 in 2000.
Read rest of article at this link: http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=HY2DAYPT1PPDYCRBAE0CF EY?type=reutersEdge&storyID=5263290