and just entering December, Lexus also officially announced its sales data in China in November. It is reported that Lexus’ sales in China in November were 20,632 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 6.8%, and still maintained a steady growth momentum. Among them, the sales of electrified models (including hybrid and pure electric) were 7,472, accounting for 36.2% of the month's sales. In addition, from January to November 2020, Lexus’ cumulative sales in China reached 202,647 vehicles, an increase of 12.4% year-on-year, which has reached the level of last year. Not surprisingly, this year's Lexus annual sales will exceed 220,000.
However, although Lexus' sales performance is still outstanding, its limelight has been overshadowed by the red flag brand that has also been gaining momentum this year. In November, Hongqi sales exceeded 25,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 100%. Lexus was once again squeezed behind and also for the Chinese luxury brand.
In addition, it is worth noting that the current second-tier luxury brands are more competitive, and Lexus can also feel a little pressure. Through the adjustment of terminal prices, Cadillac has also achieved substantial sales growth. In addition, the Lincoln brand, which is gradually realizing the localization of models, is also constantly setting new sales records. It is reported that its sales reached 7,400 in November, an increase of 82% year-on-year, and achieved positive year-on-year growth for 7 consecutive months.
In addition to traditional luxury brands, the strength of the "newcomer" Tesla is also not to be underestimated. This year, the domestically produced Tesla Model 3 has continued to maintain a monthly sales of over 10,000 yuan. In the future, with the domestically produced Model Y, its overall sales are bound to increase significantly. Although Lexus has also launched a pure electric model UX300e, it does not currently contribute much to overall sales.
At the same time, in addition to the increase in external pressure, Lexus' own problems continue to explode, which also cast a shadow of whether it can continue to maintain sales growth in the future. Since the beginning of this year, Lexus has experienced serious oil increase and oil emulsification quality problems. And it has encountered many complaints from car owners. In the end, the Lexus "engine throttle" incident was also officially explained as "These are normal phenomena in the engine working process and will not affect performance and are not a quality problem." After that, nothing happened.
In addition, in the first half of this year, Lexus was recalled 43,300 vehicles involved due to fuel pump defects and engine stalls. Consumers questioned the high quality Lexus relies on.
Although Lexus has stated more than once before, it is not simply pursuing sales growth, but how to provide every customer with a top-quality experience that Lexus exceeds expectations. However, the frequent quality problems and recall incidents now have to make domestic consumers suspect that Lexus is just a "fantasy shot", and ultimately they want to sell cars at a higher price to gain greater profits. After all, there have been relatively strong penalties for the price increase of Lexus before, but the terminal price increase has not been effectively prohibited.
writes at the end
Although Lexus is expected to refresh its sales record in the Chinese market again this year, it is undeniable that the pressure it faces is also increasing. In addition to traditional luxury brands such as Cadillac and Lincoln, brands such as Hongqi and Tesla also have a certain impact on Lexus. In addition, the high quality that Lexus relies on has begun to be questioned, and whether it can continue to maintain steady growth in sales in the future is still a big question mark.
(original article produced by the civil and military lane new media studio, please indicate the source: civil and military lane, author: breeze)
