March 2007 - Entry Level Luxury Car Sales

Dominating the segment? The ES350 is a dressed up Camry, literally. It's the same exact car, same shape, same chassis, same body panels, same interior design, same everything, just with a Lexus badge on the grill and nicer interior materials (and not even that much nicer anymore, the new Camry is nice inside). No one who would actually buy a 3-series, G35, IS, or anything even remotely sporty would buy an ES. It is targeted at women, old people, and people who dream of owning a Lexus (i.e. former Camry drivers who find themselves with extra money and want a nicer Camry than the other 30 Camrys in their neighborhood). The Lexus that actually competes in the segment is the IS, and the fact that Infiniti sold 50% more G35's than Lexus did IS's despite the IS being rated higher in pretty much every comparison should be cause for concern for Lexus.

— JRobUSC (View Profile)

Posted on 4/4/2007 11:54:52 AM | | Votes: 2   

funny it takes to models for lexus to have more sales than one single model from bmw...lol, with the is being the car that competes with the 3 series bmw sold twice as many 3's as the is, and how big is that gap. the 3 series sales account for the acura tl, the is, and the poor x type....good job lexus for making a wannabe 3 series thats still losing the sales race, not to mention everything else

— bmwdrvr (View Profile)

Posted on 4/4/2007 12:47:50 PM | | Votes: 2   

one coupes and convertibles are niche vehicles they "typically" sell in small numbers, how many coupes do you see out there luxury or non luxury, not that many there is reason for that there sales numbers normally start well and just fall off which is why production has stopped on many, and more are soon to stop, that is a big excuse to say thats the reason why the 3 is selling, the more models simply divide the sales. the es is by no means competitor to the 3 series, it is a competitor (or it would like to be) for the person looking at the low end 5, e, gs, but are on an is budget, or someone that would otherwise be driving an avalon or buick.EXCUSES aside the 3 series is the better car, and sales prove it, as do MANY other things. not just that but the 3 series and c class are the MOST expensive cars in there class, thousands more people a month/year feel there hard earned money (thousands more dollars than the competition) should go to the 3 series.....better luck next time with the is....and by the way if entry level luxury sales bother you so much you have to result to name calling, seek proffesional help...

— bmwdrvr (View Profile)

Posted on 4/5/2007 3:01:21 PM | | Votes: 0   

ok what was the point of doing that anyone can make a long list for one the models you listed replaced each other thats like making a list of everything mercedes and than again for the engine swaps, and model name change poor excuse , for how many YEARS has the 3 series been the best, and the best selling car in its class, the 3 series is the reason there is a cheap looking is, an a4, a g35, a sportier looking tl, and the x type that doesnt sell, the 3 series is hands down the best car in its class as is the 5 series, thats pretty sad the only thing these crazy lexus guys can say in defense to any car is uhm the maintenance or reliability, there are plenty of people that repeat buy bmw's im one of them, thats another reason the sales are so high, with so much competition out there now if they were so awful there are plenty of cars, or bmw copies, to choose from, but thats not what people are doing. they are spending thousands 8-10,000 a comparably equipped tl, or g35 to buy the 3 series. so what is your point.....that if bmw cant be beat in something create excuses that makes no sense to prove nothing., the people "that actually buy these cars" voted on the best, go back and look at the sales numbers. its the 3 series by far

— bmwdrvr (View Profile)

Posted on 4/7/2007 10:36:34 PM | | Votes: 1   

MKZ is doing okay consider the name (mfg) it has to deal with the car itself is pretty nice and even the Linclon dealers are pretty good, i think the machine deserves a look when shopping in this segment.

— chuck717 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/4/2007 1:43:50 PM | | Votes: 2   

I wonder if there's anyone left in the world that doesn't know that the ES and Camry share a chassis?

— Will_ (View Profile)

Posted on 4/4/2007 7:17:35 PM | | Votes: 2   

*This is bringing in consumers of different ages and allowing Lexus to sell more cars

(sorry for the type-o)

— aefsc430 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/4/2007 6:01:20 PM | | Votes: 2   

I'm pretty sure the ES is more. It's like $42K or something, compared to $31-35K for the IS.

— S4cabriofoxone (View Profile)

Posted on 4/4/2007 6:16:57 PM | | Votes: -1   

The ES is not more.

— Will_ (View Profile)

Posted on 4/4/2007 7:16:42 PM | | Votes: 2   

Ah, I stand corrected. IS is $30-35K, while ES is $33K. Somehow I got the notion that it was $42K.

— S4cabriofoxone (View Profile)

Posted on 4/4/2007 9:22:34 PM | | Votes: -1   

the stratgey works. It is Lexus's unique spin on this market. It is why IS sales will never match 3 sales, but that is fine with Lexus. When the IS came out, Lexus was clear. They have a 2 car entry strategy. German fanboys will never accept it, but meanwhile, month after month, the 2 cars will be the combined sales winner every time.

If Lexus gave up on the E (as Infiniti did with its I30), many ES buyers would choose anothe Lexus produce, presumably the IS. many othes would leave the brand altogether. So Lexus is not going to guve them up. They are entry level lux buyers, and every mfr would kill to get those huge numbers month after month, no matter which vehicle they are buying.

(BTW, as far as counting sales go, I have no problem when Merc fans add E and CLS numbers, or when Acura fans ad up TSX, RSX and TL. you can have more than one car in a class. Just look at GM. Silverado and Sierra combined would beat F150 every month, but looking at the raw numbers shows an F150 win each time. But who sold more trucks, GM or Ford?)

— 1970toyotamarc (View Profile)

Posted on 4/5/2007 1:21:41 AM | | Votes: 3