Team-BHP - What about the Lexus' and the Infiniti's?
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-   -   What about the Lexus' and the Infiniti's? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/75673-what-about-lexus-infinitis.html)

Hey

Been browsing through this forum for quite some time now. Am purely enthralled by the quality of threads, the informative depth approach and the sheer passion of the some BHP-ians.

As much as I'm in total awe with this site, I do notice that in the luxury segment, its mostly the Beamers, the Mercs and the Audis which make news and views and are discussed widely. What about the Japanese luxuries, the Lexus', the Infinitis? Is there a general opinion around here about these cars?

Personally, I'm a huge fan these brands. The Lexus LS470 totally takes my breath away, and the Infiniti FX35, the G37 are considered an enthusiasts luxury. What about these?

Do we have BHPians who're proud owners these vehicles? Can we have some general opinion about these?

First of all, its LX470 which is based on toyota LC and is now discontinued and a newer version is called LX 570.

secondly you might find the pictures of these cars in the SUpercars and Imports in India sub-fourm elsewhere here.

Thanks for the correction. Obviously its the LX570, it was just a mere typo. And yes, I did carefully check out the Supercars forum.

I'm afraid I think you're misunderstood my motive here. I'm talking about a general opinion, broader discussion involving the Lexus' and the Inifnitis, or even the Range rover as a matter of fact, not just mere posting of pics. I dont intend to say that it is a limit on this forum. It may be just my lack of knowledge amongst you BHPians. I want to understand these cars more. Thus my question was, to narrow it down to one parallel, say, is there something that bothers us in these cars? Have they been in the list of expansions of luxury cars in India, since this is a current boom sector in our country? What's stopping them from flooding our roads like the Beamers and the Mercs?

Toyota maybe mulling over getting Lexus over to India,but Toyota being a conservative manufacturer,I guess that will take considerable amount of time.No concrete plans as of yet.

As for Infiniti,first let Nissan grab a foothold in the market,then probably they'll think about Infiniti.But things are looking up.Expansion plans are full on with Nissan,and they'll start with the Micra hatch.

And yes,I agree,Lexus & Infiniti do have a market here

Quote:

Originally Posted by AyAn! (Post 1737332)

And yes,I agree,Lexus & Infiniti do have a market here

Exactly! The Lexus offers what the German giants dont. Low maintenance. One only has to dish out for the first 20k kms, then they're solid as a rock. Infinitis redefine 'quick'. The QX35 got 320 horses, and I swear it bleeds speed. Infiniti IMHO are really great looking. A perfect combo of class, style and muscle.

@AyAn Is Nissan planning to launch their other mainstream models like the Sunny and Altima? They both have great scope to become successes in India.

The dynamics of a developing market are such that Auto manufacturers are focusing on the Volume segments first to substantiate the significant investments they will need to make. Having said that, it is utterly disappointing to find said manufacturers cannibalizing the position of their own (upcoming) Luxury marquees by maintaining a single brand across all segments rather than breaking them down as they have done globally - (Honda/Acura, Toyotta/Lexus, Skoda/VW, Nissan/Infinity). The LX570 and the 80lac Landcruiser are siblings - What price will the Lexus come in at if Toyota is already so high up? Same for Infinity/Acura! VW is already having a ridiculously difficult time since Skoda is already established in India as Luxury - Where will VW go? VW isn't considered a luxury brand anyway but they need to position themselves according to the Skoda precedent! A major reshuffling is required across the board...but its still going to be a long while before we see Acuras/Lexus selling alongside Honda/Toyota here in India.

Don't the Toyota dealers import Lexus cars for you (I mean, individual enthusiast) already? I have seen many Lexus cars with the stickers of 'Ravindu Toyota' on their rear windshields here in Bangalore.

@Speeding Very good point indeed. Something that's bread and butter in the West might be a luxury home. Very true. Here in the cities, the 50lakh segment is at an exorbitant growth rate, and Lexus (say, the RX Series) which will come upto approx the price of a BM 5 Series, an E Class etc. is one they can exploit, and give us more options.

Its a growing market. First have a 'long' car was considered luxury. Now, the definition is changing. I remember Harbajan Singh said in an interview a few years back 'My dream can is the Honda City'. Honda City now is more like a staple. Thats how a growing market works. I think atleast now, us Indians in the sprawling and ever money making cities, are totally viable to the International luxury sector. We're not there yet, but we're definitely on the tip of the edge.

Lexus is owned by Toyota while Infiniti is owned by Nissan (not sure, i think). neither Toyota nor Nissan would want to kill their own sales for their primary brands. Thus Lexus and Infiniti are unlikely to enter the Indian market anytime soon. Only once Toyota has a firm foot hold will they contemplate bringing Lexus in. As for Nissan, they are yet to make an impression on Indians. Lets see how the Micra/March is accepted by the people.

Toyota so far have shown very little interest to localise even the Camry despite being mauled by the Accord every month. Thus they end up selling a western bread and butter sedan thats maybe on a good day on par with an Accord and being a CBU priced closer to premium German marques.

Frankly despite what should be negligent sales in India for the likes of Merc, BMW, Audi; these companies have taken on a lot of initiative to assemble locally and price it as competitively as possible, within our taxation/duty structure. Toyota's half hearted attitude to the premium segment will only have products like the Lexus struggle in the market, then why launch it at all.

By the way let them sort out the problems first prior to any launches, last thing a Lexus owner would want is to run into the aam aadmi due to a faulty accelerator.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nutcracker (Post 1737194)
What about the Japanese luxuries, the Lexus', the Infinitis? Is there a general opinion around here about these cars?

As an open fan of Lexus, I have to comment :)

I simply can't wait for Lexus to officially launch in India. Primary reason? Obviously not badge, rather the super reliability & lower ownership costs of the Japanese luxury marques. Mercedes, BMW and Audi come with their own share of issues, problems, big $$$ maintenance costs and unreliable nature. I want a premium luxury car that delivers top notch power, space, comfort, amenities yes....and also one that performs as ONE. Day after day with 100% reliability. This is where Lexus has left the Germans in the dust. The poor reliability is reason No.1 why I haven't upgraded to a new German car.

I would pick an LS460 anywhich day over an S Class, and the Landcruiser / LX570 is one of my top-ranked SUVs! Don't miss this discussion, Nutcracker.

Quote:

the G37 are considered an enthusiasts luxury.
Team-BHPians convinced my sister into buying a G37 :D. Related thread

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 1739146)
rather the super reliability & lower ownership costs of the Japanese luxury marques....

...and the world's finest drivetrain !! Nothing matches the NVH achievements of the Lexus LS series. The car is simply mindblowing.

I wonder if Lexus has quite the brand strength of Mercedes, BMW and Audi. And its even worse for Infiniti which is virtually unknown in India. As great as their cars might be, the brand name has a long way to go before people see it as alternatives to the Germans.

Toyota and Nissan are considered as luxuary brands in India, why would they bring Lexus and Infiniti to India and kill their own sales?

FX35, G37 and G35 coupe are my favourites from infiniti table. Have seen many used G37s during our car hunt in 2008 at mouth watering price levels.

I believe that the ownership costs of these two marquee brands would be at par with the Germans (even if it is lesser the difference won't be much as in Europe or America), obviously, the two comapnies (Nissan & Totyta) would like to charge a premium for these premium brands over other models. Honda, Nissan & Toyota are considered premium brands in India.

Plus there would be lesser localisation of the superior engines, leading to to higher costs of spares (due to our due to India's duty structure). The number of dealers dealing in these brands will also be restricted by the comapnies' managements.


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