chevy tahoe grille
When Toyota Motor Corp. shipped the first Lexus cars to California in 1989, most Americans were underwhelmed by what looked like made-in-Japan versions of Mercedes-Benz sedans.
"Back when it started, there were a lot of questions whether Lexus would work or not," said Dave Illingworth, a senior vice president at Toyota who was in charge of Lexus when the brand was introduced.
Within 11 years, Lexus' emphasis on delivering reliable cars and pampering customers turned it into the best-selling luxury nameplate in the United States. Now Toyota hopes to repeat that success around the world and transform the premium brand conceived for the U.S. market into a global luxury nameplate to rival the leading German marques Mercedes and BMW, whose global sales are roughly twice that of Lexus.
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Toyota has invested billions to expand and refine Lexus' lineup of cars and SUVs. Its engineers and designers are injecting more glamour and power each time a model comes due for redesign.
Most industry experts are betting that Toyota will succeed in establishing Lexus among the top marques. "They have that very good combination of advanced technology, excellent build quality and they're getting better on design," said Jack Nerad, editorial director at Kelley Blue Book.
But so far, the results of its global push are mixed.
In some of the most promising, fast-growing markets such as Russia and China, Lexus is off to a roaring start.
But it has been slow to gain traction in key regions, including its home market, Japan, where the brand sputtered after a grand introduction two years ago. Lexus missed its sales targets in Japan in 2005 and 2006, and demand is only now picking up after the rollout of a redesigned flagship LS sedan.
The biggest challenge, however, is Western Europe, the world's No. 1 luxury car market and home of the oldest premium marques. Last year, Lexus sold fewer than 37,000 vehicles in Europe -- a market comparable in size with the United States, where Lexus sold 322,000 cars and crossovers.
"It's not that easy to export the Lexus concept," Michael Ganal, BMW's sales chief, said in an interview earlier this year. "Lexus is made for the United States."
Americans prize comfort, reliability and attentive service -- the hallmarks of the Lexus brand. The Japanese revere heritage. Europeans want innovation above all, says Christoph Stürmer, Frankfurt, Germany-based auto analyst for Global Insight and co-author of the book 'Premium Power' about the German luxury car industry.
That poses a dilemma for top executives at Toyota's Aichi headquarters in Japan and at its U.S. sales operations in California: Should Lexus be adapted to each region or do they strive to refine one global identity for the brand?
Yuki Funo, a member of Toyota's board and the automaker's top manager in North America, said he believes Lexus should have one global identity.
"If we apply a lot of localization, we may be able to increase volumes faster, but that's not the right approach," he said in an interview. "We have to maintain the identity of the brand. That's different from Toyota, which should be localized. Lexus should be global."
chevy tahoe grille
When Toyota Motor Corp. shipped the first Lexus cars to California in 1989, most Americans were underwhelmed by what looked like made-in-Japan versions of Mercedes-Benz sedans.
"Back when it started, there were a lot of questions whether Lexus would work or not," said Dave Illingworth, a senior vice president at Toyota who was in charge of Lexus when the brand was introduced.
Within 11 years, Lexus' emphasis on delivering reliable cars and pampering customers turned it into the best-selling luxury nameplate in the United States. Now Toyota hopes to repeat that success around the world and transform the premium brand conceived for the U.S. market into a global luxury nameplate to rival the leading German marques Mercedes and BMW, whose global sales are roughly twice that of Lexus.
Advertisement
Toyota has invested billions to expand and refine Lexus' lineup of cars and SUVs. Its engineers and designers are injecting more glamour and power each time a model comes due for redesign.
Most industry experts are betting that Toyota will succeed in establishing Lexus among the top marques. "They have that very good combination of advanced technology, excellent build quality and they're getting better on design," said Jack Nerad, editorial director at Kelley Blue Book.
But so far, the results of its global push are mixed.
In some of the most promising, fast-growing markets such as Russia and China, Lexus is off to a roaring start.
But it has been slow to gain traction in key regions, including its home market, Japan, where the brand sputtered after a grand introduction two years ago. Lexus missed its sales targets in Japan in 2005 and 2006, and demand is only now picking up after the rollout of a redesigned flagship LS sedan.
The biggest challenge, however, is Western Europe, the world's No. 1 luxury car market and home of the oldest premium marques. Last year, Lexus sold fewer than 37,000 vehicles in Europe -- a market comparable in size with the United States, where Lexus sold 322,000 cars and crossovers.
"It's not that easy to export the Lexus concept," Michael Ganal, BMW's sales chief, said in an interview earlier this year. "Lexus is made for the United States."
Americans prize comfort, reliability and attentive service -- the hallmarks of the Lexus brand. The Japanese revere heritage. Europeans want innovation above all, says Christoph Stürmer, Frankfurt, Germany-based auto analyst for Global Insight and co-author of the book 'Premium Power' about the German luxury car industry.
That poses a dilemma for top executives at Toyota's Aichi headquarters in Japan and at its U.S. sales operations in California: Should Lexus be adapted to each region or do they strive to refine one global identity for the brand?
Yuki Funo, a member of Toyota's board and the automaker's top manager in North America, said he believes Lexus should have one global identity.
"If we apply a lot of localization, we may be able to increase volumes faster, but that's not the right approach," he said in an interview. "We have to maintain the identity of the brand. That's different from Toyota, which should be localized. Lexus should be global."
chevy tahoe grille
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