At Lexus, we understand that current market conditions require careful consideration of all pricing policies to ensure we maintain strong momentum and profitable retail operations. Recently, growing global markets and other economic dynamics have resulted in considerable increased operating costs and raw material costs for major components used in the manufacture of our vehicles. Carbon steel prices, for example, on average in the open market have increased nearly 18% (1) in the past 12 months and aluminum has increased nearly 25% (2) in the past 6 months. The rise in oil prices has caused petroleum products like plastics and rubber to see above-average
increases as well. To protect our price position, we have made significant internal efforts to absorb the majority of these cost increases through ongoing process improvements and other cost control initiatives. At the same time, we must continue our commitment to deliver world-class vehicles, and we must safeguard investments in key product quality programs like Customer First which are designed to ensure we maintain industry-leading quality, the hallmark of our brand.
The net of these efforts is a price increase on average of less than 1% ($377) for select 2008MY Lexus cars and SUVs, effective mid to late May. While we recognize this price adjustment is not an ideal scenario in the current market, we trust that you will find this a modest increase and one that maintains our position of delivering the world's finest luxury vehicles with superior value. We expect these current market conditions to continue for at least the near term and so we will continue our aggressive cost control measures and efforts to price our products to the market place. Details of
individual price adjustments are as follows:
SERIES PRICE CHANGE % CHANGE
IS 250/350 +300 0.9%
ES 350 +300 0.9%
GS 350/460 +400 0.9%
GS 450h +900 1.6%
LS 460/460L +900 1.4%
LS 600hL +900 0.9%
SC 430 +900 1.4%
RX 350 +200 0.5%
RX 400h +300 0.7%
GX 470 +500 1.1%
LX 570 +900 1.2%

Wow a mid-year price adjustment... that's quite unusual. The costs must've been risen pretty badly for them to do this. You'd think Toyota had enough cash reserve to hold the increase till the next model year.

Wow a mid-year price adjustment... that's quite unusual.

actually, they do it every year, not uncommon at all

actually, they do it every year, not uncommon at allAh OK somehow I was under the impression that they only did it per model year changes.:p

Prices are jumping about $1000-$2500 a year for each model, which is expected with the rate of inflation. I'm actually suprised that it isn't more because of the above mentioned issues (aluminum, petrol, plastics/rubber, etc...).

Given the weak USD, it's lucky the increases aren't more, Lexus & other new cars probably still among the cheapest, if not the cheapest in the world now given the current currency exchange rates . . .

Don't kid yourself--this has nothing to do with rising prices of raw materials or the weak dollar. This is a simply supply-and-demand adjustment. Lexus/Toyota employs a bevy of analysts who keep track of such things and who help target pricing to achieve maximum profit. They use it as one way to adjust demand (along with tweaking marketing, finance offers, etc.), combined with adjustments in supply (manufacturing shifts, color/option package limitations, etc.).

Bottom line: this is good news for Lexus. They perceive that despite the drooping U.S. economy that they are well-positioned to keep selling luxury vehicles.

Don't kid yourself--this has nothing to do with rising prices of raw materials or the weak dollar. This is a simply supply-and-demand adjustment. Lexus/Toyota employs a bevy of analysts who keep track of such things and who help target pricing to achieve maximum profit. They use it as one way to adjust demand (along with tweaking marketing, finance offers, etc.), combined with adjustments in supply (manufacturing shifts, color/option package limitations, etc.).

Bottom line: this is good news for Lexus. They perceive that despite the drooping U.S. economy that they are well-positioned to keep selling luxury vehicles.

I see what you are saying but the Germans also have stated they are having issues with the dollar dropping and material costs increasing. That is one of the reasons VW will build a plant here.

Its still amazing to me that a Lexus sells as much if not more sometimes than the Germans and it is now more than acceptable to buyers, whereas 20 years ago, no way they could have sold the cars for the same price.

Don't kid yourself--this has nothing to do with rising prices of raw materials or the weak dollar. This is a simply supply-and-demand adjustment. Lexus/Toyota employs a bevy of analysts who keep track of such things and who help target pricing to achieve maximum profit. They use it as one way to adjust demand (along with tweaking marketing, finance offers, etc.), combined with adjustments in supply (manufacturing shifts, color/option package limitations, etc.).

Bottom line: this is good news for Lexus. They perceive that despite the drooping U.S. economy that they are well-positioned to keep selling luxury vehicles.
really, got nothing to do with 30% yearly USD drop you say... interesting.

Considering that Toyota is most profitable global automaker with 10% margins, getting 30% less for their money is pretty big deal. As you can see, RX went up the least, exactly because it is manufactured in NA.

I know no more than anyone else here, and certainly less than some. But I still stand by my argument that Lexus is using the excuses in their press release to justify a supply-and-demand adjustment. It wouldn't sound too good for them to say "Our vehicles are still selling really well and, in fact, our projections show that you'll buy them even if they're a little more expensive so we've decided to bump the prices a bit."

1SickLex raised a GREAT point, though--Lexus used to sell because they offered a better package than the competition for a lot less money. That gap has been steadily closing to where Lexus is now pretty much in the same price range as BMW and MB for similar products. The market accepts it. Do you think Infiniti or Acura could get away with that?

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prn/20030501/TOYLOGO

TORRANCE, Calif., May 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota Motor Sales (TMS),
U.S.A., Inc., announced new manufacturer's suggested retail prices (MSRP)
today for certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles, effective mid- to late May
2008.

Toyota Division

At this time, pricing for the all-new 2008 Sequoia full-size sport
utility vehicle (SUV), the 2008 Tacoma pickup truck, the all-new 2009
Corolla compact car and all-new 2009 Matrix crossover utility vehicle
pricing remains unchanged.

The base MSRP for 2008 Yaris sedan will receive a new price of $12,425,
an increase of $200, or 1.6 percent. The 2008 Yaris liftback will list a
new base MSRP of $11,550, an increase of $200, or 1.7 percent. The MSRP for
the 2008 Prius will carry a new base price of $21,500, an increase of $400,
or 1.8 percent.

The 2008 Camry Solara coupe and Solara convertible increase by $250 or
0.9 percent and gain new base MSRPs of $20,180 and $27,440, respectively.
The 2008 Avalon will post a new base MSRP of $27,325, an increase of $250,
or 0.8 percent.

The only 2009 model year Toyota vehicle to receive a price adjustment
is the Toyota Camry. The gas model increases $200 or 0.9 percent and
carries a new base MSRP of $18,920. The hybrid model, which was introduced
as a 2007 model in late 2006, increases by $300 or 1.1 percent and carries
a new base MSRP of $25,650.

The 2008 RAV4 compact SUV price increases by $250, or 1.1 percent, and
will receive a new base MSRP of $21,500. The Highlander midsize SUV gas
model posts a price increase of $200, or 0.7 percent, and will carry a new
base MSRP of $27,500; and the hybrid model posts an increase of $500, or
1.3 percent, and will have a new base MSRP of $34,200.

The 2008 FJ Cruiser MSRP increases by $500, or 2.1 percent, with a new
base MSRP of $23,045. The 2008 4Runner carries a new starting MSRP of
$28,415, which represents an increase of 1.3 percent, or $400. MSRP
increases by $900, or 1.4 percent, for the all-new 2008 Toyota Land
Cruiser, with a new base price of $64,100.

In the full-size truck category, the 2008 Tundra increases by $100 and
will carry a new base price of $22,390, an increase of 0.3 percent. Pricing
for 2008 Sienna increases by $100, or 0.4 percent, and will have a new base
MSRP of $24,440.

Toyota MSRPs do not include a delivery, processing and handling (DPH)
fee of $660 for passenger cars and $685 for light trucks. DPH fee for
vehicles distributed by Southeast Toyota (SET) and Gulf States Toyota (GST)
may vary.

Lexus Division

Lexus also announced new MSRPs for select 2008 model year luxury
vehicles and the 2009 RX 350 luxury utility vehicle. Currently, pricing for
2008 Lexus IS F high-performance luxury sports sedan remains unchanged.

The IS entry luxury sport sedans will increase 0.9 percent overall, or
$300. The IS 250 rear-wheel drive model with a manual transmission will
carry an MSRP of $30,855, while the IS 250 rear-wheel drive automatic will
have an MSRP of $32,025. The IS 250 all-wheel drive and the IS 350 models
will have MSRPs of $34,485 and $36,305, respectively.

The ES 350 entry luxury sedan MSRP will increase 0.9 percent, or $300,
to $34,120.

The GS 350 and GS 460 luxury sport sedans will increase 0.9 percent
overall, or $400. The GS 350 rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive models
will carry MSRPs of $44,550 and $46,500, respectively. The GS 460 will
carry a base price of $53,020. The GS 450h hybrid model will increase 1.6
percent, or $900, to $55,800.

The MSRP for the LS 460 flagship luxury sedan will increase 1.4
percent, or $900, to $62,900 for the LS 460 and $72,900 for the LS 460 L.
The MSRP for the LS 600h L hybrid will increase 0.9 percent, or $900, to
$104,900.

The SC 430 luxury hardtop convertible will increase 1.4 percent, or
$900, to $66,355.

The RX 400h hybrid luxury utility vehicle MSRP will increase 0.7
percent overall, or $300, to $41,580 for the RX 400h front-wheel drive
model, and $42,980 for the all-wheel-drive model. The 2009 RX 350 luxury
utility vehicle MSRP will increase 0.5 percent, or $200. The
front-wheel-drive RX 350 will have an MSRP of $37,700, while the RX 350
all-wheel drive will carry a base price of $39,100.

The GX 470 luxury utility vehicle will carry an MSRP of $47,315, an
increase of 1.1 percent, or $500.

The LX 570 luxury utility vehicle will increase 1.2 percent, or $900,
carrying an MSRP of $74,700.

Lexus MSRPs do not include a delivery, processing and handling (DPH)
fee of $765.

Scion

Scion recently announced price adjustments for 2009 model year xB and
tC on April 11, 2008. Additional pricing information on 2009 Scion xD will
be announced in summer 2008.


Public Web site: http://www.toyota.com
Public Web Site: http://www.lexus.com
Public Web site: http://www.scion.com

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030501/TOYLOGO)



SOURCE Toyota Motor Sales


Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-02-2008/0004805341&EDATE=

Interesting increase the price when every month ur car sales drop lol

i guess dollar is VERY weak?

Not surprising really... yes, the dollar has weakened significantly against many currencies in the past couple of years.