Lexus a big flop in Japan? Only 51% of sales target reached
02-07-06, 05:47 PM
#31
Originally Posted by LexArazzo
Do they even plan to offer the new ES350 in Japan ? RX will be upgraded too, but I think it will still be a Toyota Harrier in Japan.
02-07-06, 07:49 PM
#35
Keeper of the light
iTrader: (17)
This is proof that the same generation that created Lexus has passed the torch 16 yrs later to a new breed that does not understand why Lexus was created in the first place. It was made to appeal to AMERICANS. Big luxury cars, big engines, big big big...... and AMERICAN in it's nature.
The Japanese don't want this Lexus "junk" or they would have kept it there in the first place. It was designed for americans and americans love Lexus.
Japanese did not bother to even try to sell Lexus there for 16 years, why? Because the generation that created it was still there at the time running the place and knew damn well that this lexus "junk" (to the japanese) would be a goldmine in America and appeal to americans ONLY..... which is what it was designed for.
The problem is not the car, it's the new generation that thinks with cunning marketing and cute sales pitches anything can be sold to anyone. I have a rude awakening for this new generation of people that think globally "we are all the same people"............ Japenese do not like cars designed for americans anymore than americans like the "Le Car".
The Japanese don't want this Lexus "junk" or they would have kept it there in the first place. It was designed for americans and americans love Lexus.
Japanese did not bother to even try to sell Lexus there for 16 years, why? Because the generation that created it was still there at the time running the place and knew damn well that this lexus "junk" (to the japanese) would be a goldmine in America and appeal to americans ONLY..... which is what it was designed for.
The problem is not the car, it's the new generation that thinks with cunning marketing and cute sales pitches anything can be sold to anyone. I have a rude awakening for this new generation of people that think globally "we are all the same people"............ Japenese do not like cars designed for americans anymore than americans like the "Le Car".
02-07-06, 08:52 PM
#36
Racer
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: so. cal
Posts: 1,789
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by O. L. T.
This is proof that the same generation that created Lexus has passed the torch 16 yrs later to a new breed that does not understand why Lexus was created in the first place. It was made to appeal to AMERICANS. Big luxury cars, big engines, big big big...... and AMERICAN in it's nature.
The Japanese don't want this Lexus "junk" or they would have kept it there in the first place. It was designed for americans and americans love Lexus.
Japanese did not bother to even try to sell Lexus there for 16 years, why? Because the generation that created it was still there at the time running the place and knew damn well that this lexus "junk" (to the japanese) would be a goldmine in America and appeal to americans ONLY..... which is what it was designed for.
The problem is not the car, it's the new generation that thinks with cunning marketing and cute sales pitches anything can be sold to anyone. I have a rude awakening for this new generation of people that think globally "we are all the same people"............ Japenese do not like cars designed for americans anymore than americans like the "Le Car".
The Japanese don't want this Lexus "junk" or they would have kept it there in the first place. It was designed for americans and americans love Lexus.
Japanese did not bother to even try to sell Lexus there for 16 years, why? Because the generation that created it was still there at the time running the place and knew damn well that this lexus "junk" (to the japanese) would be a goldmine in America and appeal to americans ONLY..... which is what it was designed for.
The problem is not the car, it's the new generation that thinks with cunning marketing and cute sales pitches anything can be sold to anyone. I have a rude awakening for this new generation of people that think globally "we are all the same people"............ Japenese do not like cars designed for americans anymore than americans like the "Le Car".
02-07-06, 10:09 PM
#37
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
Originally Posted by O. L. T.
This is proof that the same generation that created Lexus has passed the torch 16 yrs later to a new breed that does not understand why Lexus was created in the first place. It was made to appeal to AMERICANS. Big luxury cars, big engines, big big big...... and AMERICAN in it's nature.
The Japanese don't want this Lexus "junk" or they would have kept it there in the first place. It was designed for americans and americans love Lexus.
Japanese did not bother to even try to sell Lexus there for 16 years, why? Because the generation that created it was still there at the time running the place and knew damn well that this lexus "junk" (to the japanese) would be a goldmine in America and appeal to americans ONLY..... which is what it was designed for.
The problem is not the car, it's the new generation that thinks with cunning marketing and cute sales pitches anything can be sold to anyone. I have a rude awakening for this new generation of people that think globally "we are all the same people"............ Japenese do not like cars designed for americans anymore than americans like the "Le Car".
The Japanese don't want this Lexus "junk" or they would have kept it there in the first place. It was designed for americans and americans love Lexus.
Japanese did not bother to even try to sell Lexus there for 16 years, why? Because the generation that created it was still there at the time running the place and knew damn well that this lexus "junk" (to the japanese) would be a goldmine in America and appeal to americans ONLY..... which is what it was designed for.
The problem is not the car, it's the new generation that thinks with cunning marketing and cute sales pitches anything can be sold to anyone. I have a rude awakening for this new generation of people that think globally "we are all the same people"............ Japenese do not like cars designed for americans anymore than americans like the "Le Car".
About marketing and cute sales pitches - you're wrong, it works EVERYWHERE. There was no McDonalds when I grew up in England. Now it dominates. There was no Budweiser in Ireland for sure (heck, land of Guiness and many other even better beers), but Bud is HUGE in Ireland, sad to say.
Starbucks in Europe? Who'da thunk it - very successful.
It's more than just the product or service, it's a lot about marketing.
People DO get sucked in by commercial blitzes. It just takes a while. Of course you can't have much staying power if the product or service is terrible or not competitive, but in the marketplaces everywhere the 'best' product rarely does the best.
02-07-06, 10:42 PM
#38
Keeper of the light
iTrader: (17)
Originally Posted by xioix
It has nothing to do with the Lexus being "junk" or that it's to big, as the Crown models sell very well in Japan and are direct comptitors to the Lexus models, and the Crown name is what is selling the cars in Japan
When something is useless to someone it is junk, regardless of actual quality.
In America it is not useless, and therefore not junk.
02-07-06, 10:45 PM
#39
Keeper of the light
iTrader: (17)
Originally Posted by bitkahuna
While I'd guess the Japanese market consumes a much larger percentage of small and TINY vehicles there than the U.S., larger vehicles still sell there, and as was pointed out, BMW and MB do well for example, and it's not all about 1 series and A class vehicles.
About marketing and cute sales pitches - you're wrong, it works EVERYWHERE. There was no McDonalds when I grew up in England. Now it dominates. There was no Budweiser in Ireland for sure (heck, land of Guiness and many other even better beers), but Bud is HUGE in Ireland, sad to say.
Starbucks in Europe? Who'da thunk it - very successful.
It's more than just the product or service, it's a lot about marketing.
People DO get sucked in by commercial blitzes. It just takes a while. Of course you can't have much staying power if the product or service is terrible or not competitive, but in the marketplaces everywhere the 'best' product rarely does the best.
About marketing and cute sales pitches - you're wrong, it works EVERYWHERE. There was no McDonalds when I grew up in England. Now it dominates. There was no Budweiser in Ireland for sure (heck, land of Guiness and many other even better beers), but Bud is HUGE in Ireland, sad to say.
Starbucks in Europe? Who'da thunk it - very successful.
It's more than just the product or service, it's a lot about marketing.
People DO get sucked in by commercial blitzes. It just takes a while. Of course you can't have much staying power if the product or service is terrible or not competitive, but in the marketplaces everywhere the 'best' product rarely does the best.
02-07-06, 11:08 PM
#40
Racer
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: so. cal
Posts: 1,789
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by O. L. T.
That is a horrible reasoning for selling cars. The Crown can sell ten times it's predicted sales and still only hold a minimal percentage of the market. With Crown, MB, and BMW already in the spot, there's no room for Lexus for a long time because they ARE designed for Americans and are useless to someone sitting in traffic taking up two spaces of the regular compact and eating three times the gas.
When something is useless to someone it is junk, regardless of actual quality.
In America it is not useless, and therefore not junk.
When something is useless to someone it is junk, regardless of actual quality.
In America it is not useless, and therefore not junk.
02-08-06, 06:13 AM
#42
Lead Lap
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 693
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
A couple of English-language articles on the subject
I found a couple of English-language articles on the subject (as opposed to those painful-to-read Google translations).
First, this one from Just-auto.com:
Lexus takes on Japanese luxury car market
Lexus sold 10,923 cars in Japan in 2005, after its launch on the market in August, reported Automotive News.
This performance is unlikely to damage sales by European luxury car marques, but may attract more Japanese customers to the luxury car market, and ultimately benefit the import makes, suggests an article in the newspaper. The author deduces that Lexus in Japan is aimed at Toyota buyers moving up, not Mercedes owners.
BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi all increased sales in Japan in 2005. BMW sold 45,000 cars, up over 16%, Audi sold 15,400 (+11.6%) and Mercedes-Benz sold 49,000 (+4.8%).
Lexus aims to sell 50,000 to 60,000 cars this year, and 100,000 cars a year eventually in Japan. The Japanese luxury car market (defined as cars retailing for more than $30,500, is estimated at a total of 500,000 units a year, less than 9% of the total car market.
And here's the longer "source" article for that one, from Automotive News:
Lexus meets '05 launch goal in Japan
By James B. Treece
Automotive News
TOKYO -- Lexus made a splash in Japan in 2005, but it was no tsunami.
With an initial three-car lineup, Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus brand sold a respectable 10,293 cars after its launch in Japan in late August. But Lexus did not devastate sales of European luxury marques in the lucrative Japanese market.
The initial numbers indicate that Lexus is drawing more Japanese into showrooms for luxury cars, which ultimately could benefit foreign luxury imports. That could help, rather than hurt, profits for BMW AG, DaimlerChrysler AG, Ford Motor Co.'s Premier Automotive Group and others.
"I think they will expand the market," says Hans Tempel, CEO of DaimlerChrysler Japan Ltd.
Up, but below target
Sales of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi all rose last year. BMW and Audi fell short of their 2005 sales targets.
BMW-brand vehicle sales jumped 16.2 percent to 44,980, missing a target of 50,000. Audi sales climbed 11.6 percent to a record 15,420, falling short of a target of 17,000. Mercedes-Benz sales rose 4.8 percent to 45,852. DaimlerChrysler Japan did not announce a 2005 target for the Mercedes brand.
Lexus sales almost exactly met the brand's official 2005 sales target. Japanese carmakers often set low sales targets for a new model and then exceed them by 50 percent or more in the first few months of sales.
By one indication, Toyota did not expect Lexus to take sales from the established luxury brands in its first year.
Toyota spent months training Lexus sales staff in providing service more suited to luxury-car buyers than Corolla customers. But when the Lexus GS sedan and SC sports car went on sale at the end of August, followed by the IS sedan in late September, there was a gap in their training. Customers found that the Lexus sales staffers were not able to answer basic questions comparing Lexus cars to BMW's and other European brands.
The implication: Toyota aimed Lexus at Toyota buyers moving up, not Mercedes owners.
Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe denies that Lexus in Japan is focused on Toyota owners. "Our plan for Lexus is to advance into other markets, developing Lexus into the world's premium luxury brand," he says. "From that perspective, we're aware of the European luxury cars, including the German brands."
"I think we've done training on our competitors, but maybe the training was insufficient," he says. "If so, they've taken immediate action to correct that."
Expanding the pie?
Toyota aims to sell 50,000 to 60,000 Lexus cars this year, and 100,000 a year eventually.
Until now, Japan's luxury-car market has been relatively small.
The premium segment in Japan amounts to fewer than 500,000 vehicles a year, according to DaimlerChrysler. In other words, less than 9 percent of light vehicles sold in Japan cost more than 3.5 million yen, or about $30,500. Of those, half are imports.
By making it more socially acceptable to buy an expensive luxury car in a country where a strong "buy Japanese" mentality still prevails, Lexus will draw more shoppers to all luxury brands, Tempel and others believe.
Lexus will aim to build on its start when it adds models to its Japan lineup this year, including the flagship LS.
But Lexus will face a problem common to all brands in Japan: the loss of the new-car effect. On average, sales of a new model fall by more than 60 percent one year after it's launch, according to DaimlerChrysler research.
That implies that the three Lexus models currently on sale in Japan -- the IS, GS and SC -- could start to lose momentum this summer.
http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...73235032369482
First, this one from Just-auto.com:
Lexus takes on Japanese luxury car market
Lexus sold 10,923 cars in Japan in 2005, after its launch on the market in August, reported Automotive News.
This performance is unlikely to damage sales by European luxury car marques, but may attract more Japanese customers to the luxury car market, and ultimately benefit the import makes, suggests an article in the newspaper. The author deduces that Lexus in Japan is aimed at Toyota buyers moving up, not Mercedes owners.
BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi all increased sales in Japan in 2005. BMW sold 45,000 cars, up over 16%, Audi sold 15,400 (+11.6%) and Mercedes-Benz sold 49,000 (+4.8%).
Lexus aims to sell 50,000 to 60,000 cars this year, and 100,000 cars a year eventually in Japan. The Japanese luxury car market (defined as cars retailing for more than $30,500, is estimated at a total of 500,000 units a year, less than 9% of the total car market.
And here's the longer "source" article for that one, from Automotive News:
Lexus meets '05 launch goal in Japan
By James B. Treece
Automotive News
TOKYO -- Lexus made a splash in Japan in 2005, but it was no tsunami.
With an initial three-car lineup, Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus brand sold a respectable 10,293 cars after its launch in Japan in late August. But Lexus did not devastate sales of European luxury marques in the lucrative Japanese market.
The initial numbers indicate that Lexus is drawing more Japanese into showrooms for luxury cars, which ultimately could benefit foreign luxury imports. That could help, rather than hurt, profits for BMW AG, DaimlerChrysler AG, Ford Motor Co.'s Premier Automotive Group and others.
"I think they will expand the market," says Hans Tempel, CEO of DaimlerChrysler Japan Ltd.
Up, but below target
Sales of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi all rose last year. BMW and Audi fell short of their 2005 sales targets.
BMW-brand vehicle sales jumped 16.2 percent to 44,980, missing a target of 50,000. Audi sales climbed 11.6 percent to a record 15,420, falling short of a target of 17,000. Mercedes-Benz sales rose 4.8 percent to 45,852. DaimlerChrysler Japan did not announce a 2005 target for the Mercedes brand.
Lexus sales almost exactly met the brand's official 2005 sales target. Japanese carmakers often set low sales targets for a new model and then exceed them by 50 percent or more in the first few months of sales.
By one indication, Toyota did not expect Lexus to take sales from the established luxury brands in its first year.
Toyota spent months training Lexus sales staff in providing service more suited to luxury-car buyers than Corolla customers. But when the Lexus GS sedan and SC sports car went on sale at the end of August, followed by the IS sedan in late September, there was a gap in their training. Customers found that the Lexus sales staffers were not able to answer basic questions comparing Lexus cars to BMW's and other European brands.
The implication: Toyota aimed Lexus at Toyota buyers moving up, not Mercedes owners.
Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe denies that Lexus in Japan is focused on Toyota owners. "Our plan for Lexus is to advance into other markets, developing Lexus into the world's premium luxury brand," he says. "From that perspective, we're aware of the European luxury cars, including the German brands."
"I think we've done training on our competitors, but maybe the training was insufficient," he says. "If so, they've taken immediate action to correct that."
Expanding the pie?
Toyota aims to sell 50,000 to 60,000 Lexus cars this year, and 100,000 a year eventually.
Until now, Japan's luxury-car market has been relatively small.
The premium segment in Japan amounts to fewer than 500,000 vehicles a year, according to DaimlerChrysler. In other words, less than 9 percent of light vehicles sold in Japan cost more than 3.5 million yen, or about $30,500. Of those, half are imports.
By making it more socially acceptable to buy an expensive luxury car in a country where a strong "buy Japanese" mentality still prevails, Lexus will draw more shoppers to all luxury brands, Tempel and others believe.
Lexus will aim to build on its start when it adds models to its Japan lineup this year, including the flagship LS.
But Lexus will face a problem common to all brands in Japan: the loss of the new-car effect. On average, sales of a new model fall by more than 60 percent one year after it's launch, according to DaimlerChrysler research.
That implies that the three Lexus models currently on sale in Japan -- the IS, GS and SC -- could start to lose momentum this summer.
http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...73235032369482
02-08-06, 06:17 AM
#43
Lead Lap
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 693
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by LexArazzo
If lexus.jp does not have it, then the new ES350 will not be available in Japan . . .
02-08-06, 06:18 AM
#44
Lead Lap
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 693
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by rominl
well the new ls is not on lexus.jp now as well, does that mean it won't be in the lexus japan lineup?
02-08-06, 06:30 AM
#45
Super Moderator
Originally Posted by jruhi4
Not necessarily true. It could be sold in the JDM as a new-generation Toyota Windom, just like the old one was.
The current LS430 is selling in Japan as a Toyota Celsior , but it's not going to count as Lexus sales, but Toyota sales there.