Lexus has been raising the Japanese luxury brand to a higher level in the 17 years since entering China. The only one of the three Japanese models is the import and sales method of the whole vehicle to deceive consumers to pay for this so-called "luxury", but can Lexus really perfectly interpret the word "luxury"?
In the first half of this year, the car purchase stimulus policies issued by the government level all affected the recovery of the automobile market. Among the luxury brands in August, luxury brands represented by BBA were at a high level, while second-tier luxury brands were Tesla , which entered the identity of "electric luxury". The performance of Japanese Lexus' double decline in both year-on-year and month-on-month was not "luxury", and its sales were once lower than Cadillac . As the once "hard to get a car" and "hard to get a price increase", why does Lexus end up in such a situation now?
Lexus ES series, as Lexus's volume model, is also an entry-level model of the Lexus brand. In those years, it was still unsuccessful to ask for a car. In the Chinese market, there were few luxury brands that had such "treatment", and its growth rate was also out of reach for many car companies. Lexus made a lot of money in China during that period. Data shows that even under the background of the impact of the epidemic, Lexus' annual sales in China in 2020 still reached 225,000 units, second only to the 297,000 units sold in the U.S. market.
But by 2022, as the former "growth king", Lexus' imports were only 86,477 vehicles, a year-on-year decline of 29.68%. Among them, ES, the main Lexus model, had a cumulative sales of 44,425 units in the first half of the year, a year-on-year decrease of 24.29%. However, the new model launched by Lexus ES on August 12 was actually between 296,900 and 488,900 yuan. Compared with the pricing of the old model, the price of this model has been differently increased, with a maximum increase of 4,000 yuan. As sales continue to decline, Lexus can actually increase the price. Lexus' behavior is a bit the opposite.
Looking at luxury brands, in addition to BBA, second-tier luxury brands Lexus and Cadillac, Volvo , Jaguar Land Rover , and Jaguar Land Rover are not too eye-catching. They are equipped with a 2.0L naturally aspirated engine and are laughed at by everyone as "road lightning". In the era when turbocharged is rampant, the self-priming power performance is really unsatisfactory, not to mention a B-class sedan. The 2.5L engine oil emulsification phenomenon and the 8AT gearbox have made a large number of people maintain a wait-and-see attitude towards ES models. There are many reasons for the decline in sales of
. Neither the overall design nor the concept of car use can meet the needs of young car buyers. If Lexus can follow the younger design, it may also save the precarious sales. The
sports look is equipped with an overly retro interior design. When the new ES was not launched on August 12, ES was still equipped with a traditional handwriting board screen operation method. Carplay and carlife configurations are something that ES car owners dare not wish for. For example, mainstream all-LCD instruments are unattainable advanced products. Such products cannot be recognized by many consumers in an era of intelligence and technology.
If there is a problem with the design, then the model that everyone likes in the later stage may be able to regain everyone's recognition. If there is a problem with the reputation, I am afraid that this model and even the brand can be said to have reached the end of their lives ahead of schedule, which has to talk about the negative news that has caused Lexus' reputation to plummet.
On July 28, a Lexus LM car accident occurred on a section of Guigang, Guangxi. The front of the car was seriously damaged and all the front airbags bounced open, but the doors of the car were locked. The people in the car were trapped in the car and could not escape, which eventually caused one passenger in the car to die and two injured.For a million-level MPV, both active and passive safety configurations should be better for the people in the car. However, in the vehicle instruction manual of Lexus LM, the safety hazards that may arise after a collision of LM models are mentioned: if the vehicle is subject to a strong impact, all doors will be unlocked. However, depending on the force of the impact or the type of accident, the system may not work. For such a model that depends on the situation to ensure the safety of the lives of the people in the car, I am afraid no one will dare to choose it in the later stage.
Automobile Network Review: For car companies like Lexus that are too conservative, the rapid development of new energy vehicles has snatched the share of fuel vehicles, and Lexus is far behind in new energy vehicles, which is tantamount to losing strong competitiveness. Today, when large screens create digital cockpits, there is no way to see the Lexus model has too intelligent configurations, and it is also a big step behind in this regard.
With the rapid development of new energy vehicles now entering a stage of scale and marketization, and the influx of most new models, Lexus' product highlights have been eclipsed against this background and cannot support its "price-up behavior". Perhaps by adapting to the intelligent era, improving product quality and accelerating the electrification process, Lexus may regain its former glory.
