Lexus, the luxury car brand owned by Toyota Motor Corporation expects India to be its largest market in Asia Pacific region, as the demand for high end cars grows at a healthy pace.
While India closed 2022 with a ranking of six, in 2023, with plans of doubling volumes, it is likely to rise to the biggest market in the APAC region for Lexus. This growth in volumes will be backed by a series of new model launches and an expanding network.
Naveen Soni, Head of Lexus India told Autocar Professional, that he expects the market for luxury cars to grow in a strong double digit and also that the company will aim to outpace the market in 2023. He said India was the fastest growing market for Lexus in Asia Pacific and it will continue to outperform other global markets.
“We have grown by 70 percent in 2022 and we aim to grow by more than 100 percent in 2023 as the supplies improve this year. We will be launching two new models this year and along with an expanded network, we are confident that the strong growth momentum will sustain,” Soni said
To ensure product excitement, Lexus will be launching the RX in May, LM in the second or third quarter and the two-seater LC 500 will be relaunched.
Soni believes the traction in the top end of the market continues to remain strong and it is expected to hit a new peak of 42,000 to 44,000 units in 2023.
While Lexus is non-committal on its own sales numbers, Autocar Professional learns the company has already crossed 1,000 units in annual sales, with a plan of doubling the sales in 2023, it is likely to cross 2,000 units in the current year.
Soni says in a short span of time, the reach of Lexus has quadrupled to 17 outlets in 13 cities 2022 from four outlets in 2021. This is further set to go up to 30 outlets in 2023, as the brand seeks to bring in new buyers from growing regions in the country.
Apart from adding new markets, a big emphasis has been on delivering a superior customer experience. “We are consistently enhancing the guest experience – it is similar to the service one gets in the premium hospitality industry. We have created programmes like Lexus Life to keep the customer engaged. We are bringing in products which are at the forefront of technology and we are back that up with unique guest experiences,” said Soni.
On the pure EV front, the company continues to test the vehicle in the Indian market and it is keen to introduce it but the timelines are yet to be finalised.