Toyota’s Lexus has been the leading luxury car for around a decade in the United States, however, Toyota’s Lexus has been the leading luxury car for around a decade in the United States, may be surpassing the Japanese manufacturer’s reigning status.
“It’s very likely Mercedes-Benz may take over the lead this year,” said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends for researcher Truecar.com in Santa Monica, California, according to Bloomberg. “The cumulative impact of all the recalls hasn’t really shown up yet. It’s more likely to be seen in the second half.”
The multiple recalls of Toyota Motor Corp.—Lexus’s parent company—since the beginning of 2010 has overshadowed the world’s largest carmaker in terms of sales. The aftershocks of over 8.5 million vehicles being recalled worldwide appear to have not only dented its reputation but sales as well.
The most recent Lexus-specific recalls target the valve springs in the cars’ engines, which could cause the motor to stall while in operation. There had not been any reports of accidents due to the defect.
Japan’s Lexus has seen 19 percent sales growth in the first half of the year, which would indicate the Toyota recall issues did not impact the luxury sales division.
Lexus’s market share dropped slightly to 1.98 percent this year from 2.1 percent in 2009, falling behind both Mercedes-Benz and BMW, according to market researcher Edmunds.com. BMW is the world’s top selling luxury auto brand.
“It will be a battle,” says Jim Lentz, president of Toyota’s U.S. sales unit in a Bloomberg interview. “The Lexus customer is really discerning about quality issues.”
Lexus’s U.S. sales growth dropped to 2.7 percent in June while Mercedes-Benz posted a 25 percent gain and BMW delivered 15 percent more cars.
A spokesman for Munich-based BMW, Markus Sagemann, preferred not to comment on whether the carmaker is benefiting from Lexus’s decline. However, in terms of BMW sales performance he said that “our model lineup is very strong, and we’ll continue to boost it,” he said. “Globally, we’ll have replaced 60 percent of our models by 2012.”
In the first half of 2009, Lexus’s sales indicated that it would be beaten by BMW in the United States, with sales of 90,060 compared with BMW’s 93,563. Lexus ended the year with a 19,473-unit lead over BMW, hence preserving its top position for the 10th straight year.
“It’s very likely Mercedes-Benz may take over the lead this year,” said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends for researcher Truecar.com in Santa Monica, California, according to Bloomberg. “The cumulative impact of all the recalls hasn’t really shown up yet. It’s more likely to be seen in the second half.”
The multiple recalls of Toyota Motor Corp.—Lexus’s parent company—since the beginning of 2010 has overshadowed the world’s largest carmaker in terms of sales. The aftershocks of over 8.5 million vehicles being recalled worldwide appear to have not only dented its reputation but sales as well.
The most recent Lexus-specific recalls target the valve springs in the cars’ engines, which could cause the motor to stall while in operation. There had not been any reports of accidents due to the defect.
Japan’s Lexus has seen 19 percent sales growth in the first half of the year, which would indicate the Toyota recall issues did not impact the luxury sales division.
Lexus’s market share dropped slightly to 1.98 percent this year from 2.1 percent in 2009, falling behind both Mercedes-Benz and BMW, according to market researcher Edmunds.com. BMW is the world’s top selling luxury auto brand.
“It will be a battle,” says Jim Lentz, president of Toyota’s U.S. sales unit in a Bloomberg interview. “The Lexus customer is really discerning about quality issues.”
Lexus’s U.S. sales growth dropped to 2.7 percent in June while Mercedes-Benz posted a 25 percent gain and BMW delivered 15 percent more cars.
A spokesman for Munich-based BMW, Markus Sagemann, preferred not to comment on whether the carmaker is benefiting from Lexus’s decline. However, in terms of BMW sales performance he said that “our model lineup is very strong, and we’ll continue to boost it,” he said. “Globally, we’ll have replaced 60 percent of our models by 2012.”
In the first half of 2009, Lexus’s sales indicated that it would be beaten by BMW in the United States, with sales of 90,060 compared with BMW’s 93,563. Lexus ended the year with a 19,473-unit lead over BMW, hence preserving its top position for the 10th straight year.
