Toyota luxury brand Lexus estimates sales of around 30,000 units in Europe this year – in line with its forecasts.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

The automaker had posted an increase of 15% to 15,200 for the first six months of 2009 – compared with a 13% fall in Toyota H1 numbers – but its Lexus division is optimistic.

“It’s more or less our original plan,” Toyota Motor Europe president Didier Leroy told just-auto in Paris. “There are two main reasons for these very successful sales – the RX and specifically the 450RX hybrid thanks to the large increase in the Russian market.

“Russia has been coming back for the past four to five months for Lexus and Toyota – there is a new take-off for the Russian economy and a direct impact on Lexus.”

Leroy also said Lexus was better able to compete with the established German giants in Russia and that the brand’s strong image was aided by its developed network in the country.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

“We are not a mass volume producer and we can’t expect to compete with the same volume as Mercedes,” said Leroy.

“We don’t want to fight directly face-to-face within a European operation [but] for the Russian customer it [Lexus] is one of the key competitors for German carmakers, which is not what we are doing in some other countries.”