Lexus USA April 2008 Sales Report
May 1st, 2008 Filed under: Numbers
The month of April was not kind to Lexus, as sales dropped 17.1% since last year. Here is, as always, a breakdown:
| 2008 | 2007 | % Change | |
| IS250/350/F | 4,550 | 4,363 | -3.7 |
| ES350 | 5,439 | 6,544 | -23.3 |
| GS350/460/450h | 1,568 | 1,887 | -23.3 |
| SC430 | 217 | 341 | -41.3 |
| LS460/600h L | 1,992 | 3,182 | -42.2 |
| Total Cars | 13,766 | 16,317 | -22.1 |
| RX350/400h | 7,160 | 7,861 | -15.9 |
| GX470 | 1,625 | 1,577 | -4.9 |
| LX570 | 799 | 240 | 207.3 |
| Total Trucks | 9,584 | 9,678 | -8.6 |
| Total Sales | 23,350 | 25,995 | -17.1 |
The LX 570 was the lone bright spot, where sales have jumped 207.3% with the introduction of the SUV update. Everything else was down, including the LS, which saw a significant 42.2% drop.
Going over the age of the line-up, there’s definitely a lull. The IS-F was a step in the right direction, but its availability and market are both quite small, and it can’t really be expected to boost the sales numbers. One thing’s for sure, a drop like this brings change, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some new product announcements in the very near future.
[Source: Toyota]
I hope so, but that dealer advisory interview you posted a while back suggested that the dealers expect to have to weather this year with no major new product launches. A new RX would be a big boost, but as the 2009’s been announced as a continuation of the current model, that’s not likely this year. Meanwhile, here in the U.S., Lexus’ rivals and not far behind, will they keep the sales crown this year? IMO a new SC is also needed, even though that’s small volume.
Posted by Dan on May 1st, 2008You’re absolutely right about the SC, honestly I was thinking about the rumored IS coupe.
The more I think about it, the more it looks like 2009 is just going to be a slow year. The numbers are down industry-wide, and even if there’s something new, it might not be enough.
I’m curious about the US numbers, I’ll do some number crunching and see what I come up with.
Posted by krew on May 1st, 2008None of these numbers make sense to me. The IS sales look up 4.28%. Why would the DSR (Daily Sales Rate) variable change for a month that always has 30 days?
Posted by Dave on May 2nd, 2008Hi Dave,
To my knowledge, the monthly DSR rate factors in things like weekends and holidays, which change from year to year.
Posted by krew on May 2nd, 2008