Lexus sold 10,923 cars in Japan in 2005, after its launch on the market in August, reported Automotive News.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
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.
