Lexus Posts Double Digit Global Sales Gains For 2019

Despite demand in North America not being as strong as it used to, Lexus posted a double-digit sales gain in 2019, showing signs of strength in China as well as Europe.

The Toyota-owned premium brand marked a 10% increase to 765,330 units globally last year, which is a new annual record. Partly responsible for this gain were the UX crossover and the redesigned ES, as well as the popular RX SUV, which was redesigned in August of 2019.

Lexus delivered roughly 250,000 hybrid models to customers in 2019, and 1.7 million since the launch of the very first RX 400h, which took place back in 2005.

“I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to each and every Lexus customer around the world. From the time of our founding, we at Lexus have been earnestly pursuing the spirit of innovation and untiring evolution, and we will continue to take up the challenge of building vehicles that exceed our customers’ expectations,” stated Lexus president Koji Sato.

“Looking forward, based on our ‘Lexus Electrified’ vision, we will expand our lineup of electrified vehicles, starting with the launch of our first BEV production model, the UX300e. We will further evolve the Lexus DNA to achieve the ideal balance of ride comfort and quietness with driver confidence and engagement. By applying advanced Lexus technologies such as the integrated control of drive power, learned over many years developing electric motor control technologies in our hybrid vehicles, we will provide an inspiring and enjoyable driving experience unique to Lexus.”

Sales in the U.S. went down 0.1% last year, marking a fourth straight year of declines, as reported by Autonews Europe.

In the end, while it might tower over Japanese rivals such as Nissan’s Infiniti and Honda’s Acura in terms of worldwide sales, Lexus still trails Germany’s Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi.