Toys4RJill

Trexus, great response.

I think the ES will make it to NA production, building the ES in NA will allow Lexus to keep the MSRP while making more profit on the car.

This is better than the alternative of increasing MSRP or cutting profit margins.

pbateson

I dont want Lexus built in US like Honda built in US.

Trexus

Let's look at Lexus U.S. sales from January through December 2011:

RX 82,595
ES 40,873
IS 29,669
CT 14,381
GX 11,609
LS 9,568
GS 3,746
LX 3,167
HS 2,864
LFA 62
SC 18

Total 198,552

Most likely worldwide sales are roughly 400,000 which includes the U.S. and this is from January through December 2011.

In 2005 Lexus sold 108,775 RX's and in 2007 Lexus sold 82,867 ES's. As anyone can see the RX is Lexus biggest seller and that's why some RX's are built in Canada. As for the ES the highest amount sold was in 2007 and as of current the ES is still built in Japan. Personally I don't think the ES will be built in the U.S. anytime soon or within the next 3, 4 or even 5 years. Maybe the ES could be manufactured in Canada but not in the U.S. anytime soon...

toy4two

damn thats a shame. All the japaneese cars I've owned built in Japan have been flawless. All the US made ones, although I won't touch one, seemed to get tons of bad press over the last decade.

Trexus

Don't worry Lexus is not building any cars anytime soon in the U.S. Only the some RX's will be built in the Canadian plant...

Mr. Burns

Future sales prediction (~2013):

RX: 70,000
ES (new model): 60,000
IS (new model): 40,000
GS (new model): 25,000
LS (new model): 20,000
CT: 10,000
GX: 8,000
LX (refreshed): 4,000
LFA: 50
HS: 0
SC: 0
Total: ~230,000

STIG

I am not sure if you consider Tacomas and Tundras luxury cars, but people care less about 10mm gap on the trucks. You can't use the same examples. I can tell the difference between the Canadian RX and Japanese RX. Forget about the awards. Canadian Lexus plant is probably the best one outside of Japan but still not really up to par. My brother RX was built in Japan, and my gf RX was build in Canada. Even the imprints on the glass look different, and that bothers me.

My 6 year-old IS350 was build at Tahara, and it was the most well build car I've ever owned. My dad's LS460 is also built at Tahara, and it has implacable build quality. Good luck getting that in American plants.

Trexus

That's a good one. I remember reading somewhere that Mark Templin had projected a 20% increase in sales for 2012. So with that said 2012 projected U.S. total sales should be 198,552 X 20% = 238,262.