Lexus Expects to Meet and Exceed 2014 Target Sales

In 2012, twelve of the best-selling luxury brands made up a little more than 10 percent of car sales in the world’s largest market for luxury vehicles.

Prior to 1965, as expected, American car brands were the dominate force in the U.S. luxury auto industry.  For many years, The Big Three (Ford, GM, and Chrysler) were the main contenders, both domestically and internationally.

But in 1989, the engineers at Toyota Motor Corp. wanted to create a luxury sedan that came as close to perfection as possible.

As consumer satisfaction and product reliability grew, Lexus became one of Japan’s largest global brands and in 2014, the Lexus RX, ES, and IS were at the top of the list of the 15 best-selling luxury vehicles in America.

According to Consumer Reports, Lexus has gone straight to the head of the class this year, as the car maker has received the highest marks out of any brand in the luxury category.

But after an 11 year reign as America’s #1 luxury brand, Lexus lost its crown.  A deadly 7.3 earthquake and tsunami that hit in 2011, completely devastating many of the areas that housed Toyota’s production plants and suppliers.

Not only was Japan and its surrounding regions affected by the tsunami, but nearby Asian countries, the Philippines, Hawaii, South America, Canada, Alaska, and the Western Coast of the U.S., as well.

Sales fell about 38 percent in the first 6 months for the brand in the U.S., and for the first time in 14 years, BMW’s profits surpassed that of Lexus. In addition to the tragedy of Japan’s natural disaster, several of the car maker’s most well-heeled rivals began eating into the American market share Lexus has previously enjoyed.

Mercedes began offering its E-Class mid-luxury sedan at a price significantly higher than what the Lexus RX was going for. BMW catapulted to the top in both 2011 and 2012, recording its best sales year in the U.S. for 2012.

Something very significant happened for Toyota that same year.  The car maker announced global sales has reached a whopping 9.75 percent, topping its forecast of 9.7 million vehicles.

While GM still held the title of the leading automaker in the world’s two largest markets – China and the United States – Toyota had pushed past its perceived production challenges and was renamed the world’s largest automaker in 2013.

Lexus sales in 2013 bounced back 35 percent from 2011 and this year, the auto maker is reporting that it’s on par to go beyond its 2014 target sales of 290,000. With the addition of a few of its upcoming models like the RC Sports Coupe and the NX Crossover, Jeff Bracken, U.S. general manager for Lexus believes the car maker’s $25,000 goal won’t be hard to meet.

Stop by Lexus of Highland Park today and experience why Lexus remains at the top of its class.