Lexus Australia won't extend warranty or sell online

Lexus Australia says it has no plans to match its key luxury brand rivals in offering a five-year warranty or online vehicle sales, but will continue to offer its customers the “highest standard” of aftersales care.

The Japanese premium vehicle brand this week said it was focussed on delivering the best customer care – rather than simply extending its previously unrivalled four-year warranty to match the longer warranties recently announced by competitors such as Mercedes-Benz.

“We focus on the content of our warranty and believe what we deliver is at the very highest standard,” said Lexus Australia chief Scott Thompson at a socially-distanced function in Sydney.

“Our focus is now about customer care, customer benefits and customer value in terms of that period of time.

“We’re very comfortable with where we’re at from a warranty point of view.”

Lexus Encore has long been one of the best aftersales programs offered in the Australian auto industry, offering free loan cars, the collection and return of vehicles for service, and a range of other benefits.

As of January, it was extended to include capped-price servicing for all new vehicles, plus a range of extra perks and exclusive experiences designed to deliver owners the “luxury of time”. Further benefits are expected to be announced next month.

Meantime, Thompson said Lexus Australia would consider joining its rivals in the growing online vehicle sales market, but stressed it will continue to listen to both customers and dealers before it makes any moves.

“Anything we do has our dealers absolutely involved,” he said.

“We are thinking about it [online sales]. But it comes back to customer feedback. If customers want it, then we’ll explore the opportunity.”

Lexus has won a multitude of customer satisfaction awards over the years, including named Roy Morgan’s Car Manufacturer of the Year five times in the last six years, and says its dealer network is central to its success.

“Our dealers are our greatest asset at Lexus,” said Lexus spokesman Dan DeGasperi. “We would not have the awards we have without their complete commitment and support.”