Lexus on the road to recovery
Japanese luxury brand would have had a record year if not for tsunamiLexus will soon be boosted by replenished stock after its supply chain took a hit in the wake of the Japanese tsunami in March.
Production has returned to normal and fresh shipments begin arriving this month, leading Lexus to forecast a strong finish to the year.
Lexus sales are down by 11 per cent so far this year, but sales of its biggest selling model, the IS250, have almost halved because of restricted supply.
"We were hoping to do over 8000 for the first time ever, which would have been a record for us," the chief executive of Lexus Australia, Tony Cramb, told motoring.com.au.
"But the supply constraints since the tsunami have held us back. We think the interruption to production probably cost us about 1600 sales that we'll never make up.
"We think we'll have a flat August [same result as last year] but we'll start to see a climb in September."
Lexus' total tally would have been in worse shape if it weren't for the CT200h compact hatch, which has brought the entry price of a Lexus down to $39,990. Although some customers have been waiting for up to five months, Lexus says the waiting list for the CT200h is now down to two months.
The CT200h has quickly become the third-biggest seller for Lexus (after the IS250 sedan and RX soft-roader). Its 600-plus year-to-date tally accounts for one in five of all Lexus sales.
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