Following a down 2011, Toyota’s Lexus luxury brand has vowed to grow its global sales by nearly 25 percent in 2012. Lexus’s sales target would bring the automaker’s sales back up to pre-crash levels.
Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami put a cap on Lexus’ sales potential in 2011, but all issues related to that natural disaster have been sorted, clearing the way for a strong 2012. Lexus aims to sell between 500,000-510,000 vehicles worldwide this year, representing a significant improvement over 2011′s 404,000 sales.
Although Lexus has historically been a small player in the European market, Lexus hopes to change that in 2012. The automaker’s European sales actually increased 53 percent last year, but totaled just 27,016 vehicles. Lexus is hopeful its new corporate face – which debuted on the GS sedan – will help the company better compete with its European rivals.
“Our competitors — Mercedes, BMW and Audi — are all instantly recognizable on the road,” Kiyotaka Ise, chief officer of the Lexus group, told Automotive News. “That’s what we’re going for.â€
Lexus is also hoping for a bounce back year in the United States. After an 11-year run as the nation’s best-selling luxury brand, Lexus lost that title to BMW and actually finished third overall behind Mercedes-Benz.
