Lexus to hit Indian roads

[thangu]

Toyota are planning to bring the Lexus brand to India soon. Given the recent onslaught of luxury marquees into the Indian market they must have thought its high time they made their presence felt here.

It looks like they will be offering the LS460 sedan and the LS470 SUV initially and later expand. Like every where else in the world, they are looking at opening exclusive dealerships and service stations which will not be related to the Toyota one's which are already existing.

This is good news for those who can afford these luxuries...

Source: Economic Times

[1100D]

This is indeed very good news. Lexus was needed to have control over the luxury market in India. Moreover Lexus actually has far better brand value in India than Toyota think they have.

[Nitin]

Interesting! Now for Lexus to establish itself along with the other big brands. If Lexus does it right,they could very well move BMW aside,atleast in a few segments.

[iraghava]

This is good news! If they play their cards right (read unlike Toyota India) they could do very well here & give some of the established manufacturers bloody noses!

Best of luck to them!

[rr_zen]

Wow ! Thats great news. Just that it should be 'Lexin' and not 'Lexus'. As we all know, Lexus stands for 'Luxury export US'.

If they are successful in India then we can soon see the day when Honda will follow the same footsteps with Acura.

[1100D]

Originally Posted by rr_zen

If they are successful in India then we can soon see the day when Honda will follow the same footsteps with Acura.

It might be inevitable, however I consider Lexus and Infinity to be a bit different from Acura. In essence, under the Lexus/Infinity brandname a different breed of cars (powerful RWD) are sold, which can match the best of Europe. For Acura, its just an upmarket Honda.

[DocG]

it is quite possible that Acura and Infinity head outside the US...As everyone knows, Lexus, Acura and Infinity were created to attend to the needs of the US auto market. However Lexus decided to head to the rest of the world, and did very well for itself. Acura and Infinity however stayed within the US. This year however, Infinity is hitting Europe, and they are entering aggressively. Hence we should see Acura branching out soon enough...

However back to the topic, yes, Lexus enjoys excellent brand equity here in India [most people don't know it's a Toyota :lol]
Therefore sales should be hot, however BMW will be rather untouched due to their sporty image, but on the pure luxury front, Lexus has a lot to offer...

[V-16]

Toyota and even Honda have bought in their US spec larger cars to India instead of the European ones (Corolla, Camry and Accord) so it makes sense that the Lexus comes in with limited American spec like the above cars. Lexus IMHO is a brand to watch in India. Now to get their pricing right. I know they might have done their research but here are some tips they should follow;

1) Come on in with the latest model,
2) Do not price it near the Mercedes S class or the BMW 7 series. It should in fact be a good 15% lower. See what an unknown brand like Hyundai did to Accord in India with the earlier Sonata. But these guys never learn. They undid all that with the current Emberra. So also with the Camry. The VW story is also there to see.
3) Learn from what Nissan did with their Teana versus the Camry.
4) Give the buyers an offer they cant refuse and you have an instant hit.
5) The LX 470 SUV is an already established vehicle in the Indian market. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about their brilliant Luxury Sedan which is actually an S class beater.

[sriramv.iyer]

I hope they dont price it exorbitantly (As V16 pointed out)

And I hope they bring IS-F too - I'll atleast have the pleasure of seeing one in Indian Roads - Lexus IS F -

Who said levying huge taxes and excise duties are bad? After a long period of frustration, I have now grown to appreciate things that I do not own and appreciate things at others' hands without calling foul or sour grapes.( I was looking for a smiley of an angel with an aura or ring on top, the closest I could get was this - )

[Raja]

Looking forward to the Lexus experience in India.
They re-wrote the rules in customer satisfaction in UK/US/Europe.
I hope they bring that whole new experience to India.

[RPMPKDMFF]

Originally Posted by sriramv.iyer

I hope they dont price it exorbitantly (As V16 pointed out)

And I hope they bring IS-F too - I'll atleast have the pleasure of seeing one in Indian Roads - Lexus IS F -

Who said levying huge taxes and excise duties are bad? After a long period of frustration, I have now grown to appreciate things that I do not own and appreciate things at others' hands without calling foul or sour grapes.( I was looking for a smiley of an angel with an aura or ring on top, the closest I could get was this - )

Being a new entry and in the luxury segment, it is bound to be priced exorbitantly. The company basically can not help it, with all the taxes that prevail.
But even if it is in the same price range as the Mercs and Beemers, the Lexus models would definitely give them a run for their money. IMO, another good Lexus model and one they should consider bringing to India is the IS, we have it here in Dubai, and it is selling like hot cakes... and I know that young Indians are emerging with high disposable incomes, this is eye-candy for them.

[vasudeva]

More competition is always better for buyers. But this is speculative news (2 years+ for launch is in that realm).

[amit]

Do not price it near the Mercedes S class or the BMW 7 series. It should in fact be a good 15% lower.

Thats what they do everwhere else and should do here in India also but I really wonder what pricing strategy Toyota will adopt for Lexus in India.

Consider this:

The Camry is priced almost at C/3/A4 levels in India.

So logically the real C/3/A4 competitor in the Lexus range (IS) will probably compete with the E/5/A6?!

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by amit

So logically the real C/3/A4 competitor in the Lexus range (IS) will probably compete with the E/5/A6?!

If they do that, they won't be shooting themselves in the foot! It'll be more like chopping both their legs off!!

[vasudeva]

As mentioned by others, pricing for Lexus could be an issue. Camry is almost around 22-25 lakhs, which is within shouting range (at least for a person who can afford that kind of price). Entry level Lexus will be higher. Perhaps some price adjustment of Camry or assembling Lexus in India or duty cuts by the Govt.