Amid Comparisons To Buick, Lexus Concedes Luxury Sales Title

[ne_one]

Amid Comparisons To Buick, Lexus Concedes Luxury Sales Title
Left Lane News
July 11, 2011
by Nat Shirley

With significant lost sales in the wake of the devastating Japanese earthquake and tsunami , it is all but certain that Lexus’s 11-year reign as the top selling luxury brand in the U.S. will come to an end. Whether the brand will rebound to the top of the sales charts in 2012 and beyond is far less definite, leading one analyst to suggest that the brand is on its way to being the Buick of yore.

Lexus U.S. sales are projected to fall to by about 17 percent to 190,000 in 2011, said Lexus Division general manager Mike Templin. A difficult first half saw Lexus selling 88,010 vehicles as arch rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz moved 113,705 and 110,926 units, respectively. That gap will likely prove too great for Lexus to overcome during the second half of 2011.

However, the difficulties at Lexus may extend beyond supply shortages caused by the devastation in Japan. Industry analyst Aaron Bragman of IHS Automotive suggested that Lexus could face “quite a challenge” to reclaim its sales crown due to an increasing perception that the brand builds vehicles best suited to septuagenarians.

Demand for Buicks is up 34 percent this year to 93,599 units. Buoyed by a pair of new premium sedans, the General Motors unit is quickly shedding its image as a stagnant brand for ever-aging buyers. By contrast, Lexus sales are down 24 percent through the first six months of 2011.

Full article at link.

[FenwickHockey65]

Oh how the tables have turned...

[EcoBustier69]

Comparing Lexus to Buick is kind of dissing Buick if you ask me.

Lexus probably won't get the lead back next year either...M-B and BMW have been closing in for sometime. In the future, Audi, Cadillac, Infinity and Buick could all leave Lexus stuck in 2nd gear.

[WishIhadatruck]

When I first saw the title I thought they were comparing Lexus to the new Buicks, guess not. They are comparing them to the Buick of the past, cars for old folks. NOT good for Lexus.

[dslay04]

The circle of life........... Maybe BMW will be saying the same thing soon (Hurry up Cadillac).

[megeebee]

"Luxury"

I dunno. I don't get the comparison of Buick to Lexus. Personally, I think Lexus is a higher end brand to Buick.
Not to say the latest crop of Buicks isn't good, I just think a direct comparison is something of a stretch.

.

[goatgary]

When I first saw the title I thought they were comparing Lexus to the new Buicks, guess not. They are comparing them to the Buick of the past, cars for old folks. NOT good for Lexus.

NOT good for Lexus but the analogy to past Buicks is dead on. The best term for Lexus in today's Lux market is "stodgy"....or maybe "stale". Friends of mine who can afford ANY car they want just turned in the wife's 2009 RX for a totally loaded Enclave. She is over the Lexus thing and cannot say enough about the Enclave.

[Stéphane Dumas]

Or Buick for a more older past before it got the image of "old's man car". Ironically Hemmings blog spotted a vintage Buick ad when Buick tried to attract younger folks http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2...r-trope-at-gm/

[Mr. Burns]

"Luxury"

I dunno. I don't get the comparison of Buick to Lexus. Personally, I think Lexus is a higher end brand to Buick.
Not to say the latest crop of Buicks isn't good, I just think a direct comparison is something of a stretch.

.

Of course it's higher end than Buick. The flagship Buick sedan is priced the same as the entry level Lexus - and I don't mean the ES. Throw in the $22k Verano next year and I won't be surprised if sales would double even Mercedes.

BMW has an all new lineup (probably more Lexusy than any BMW lineup before it) and some very attractive lease offers, not hard to see why they're #1.

[Titanic]

I think Buick's price point is still well below Lexus's. Plus, with the introduction of the Verano, that price gap will only increase.

Lexus's cheapest model, the CT, is $30,000. The ES starts at about $37,000, or about ten grand more than the LaCrosse, which makes sales comparisons tricky, despite what Buick will like us to think whenever it promotes how the LaCrosse outsold the ES.

That's not to mention that the GS, LS, LF-A, LX, and GX are all well outside the range of Buick's pricing.

[Rocket 88]

"Luxury"

I dunno. I don't get the comparison of Buick to Lexus. Personally, I think Lexus is a higher end brand to Buick.
Not to say the latest crop of Buicks isn't good, I just think a direct comparison is something of a stretch.

.

+1

Buick is headed in a good direction but they still have some ground to cover.
Personally, I think a nice sporty drop top would help Buick's image. The Velite was nice.

[YEH]

"Luxury"

I dunno. I don't get the comparison of Buick to Lexus. Personally, I think Lexus is a higher end brand to Buick.
Not to say the latest crop of Buicks isn't good, I just think a direct comparison is something of a stretch.

Lexus kinda has a dual lineup.

Less expensive (for their size) FWD models like the ES and RX and the traditional RWD luxury models (IS, GS and LS).

Toyota's problem going forward is that Lexus is being attacked from both sides of the market.

[Quickening]

Buick is playing the luxury value game, they are claiming to offer the same level of rifinement, quality, luxury as Lexus but at a much lower price point. Thats how you have to rebuild a brand that had the horrible perception Buick had/has.

They are playing the Hyundai game and its working, they are getting the sales to put Buick back on the map.

[goatgary]

+1

Buick is headed in a good direction but they still have some ground to cover.
Personally, I think a nice sporty drop top would help Buick's image. The Velite was nice.

Nope. All they need is a stunner Riveria and a GNX eqivalent Regal. It would seal the lux deal for Buick.

[A Bum In A Bus]

Nope. All they need is a stunner Riveria and a GNX eqivalent Regal. It would seal the lux deal for Buick.

I'm incline to agree, the Riviera is needed badly, as is the GNX, how about a Riviera GNX.