{"id":60387,"date":"2013-04-19T15:21:49","date_gmt":"2013-04-19T19:21:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=60387"},"modified":"2013-04-19T15:22:16","modified_gmt":"2013-04-19T19:22:16","slug":"adding-major-new-lexus-model-a-key-reason-older-es-sedan-coming-to-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2013\/04\/adding-major-new-lexus-model-a-key-reason-older-es-sedan-coming-to-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Adding Major New Lexus Model a Key Reason Older ES Sedan Coming to US"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Mark Templin, Jim Lentz and Akio Toyoda at the Friday news conference in New York.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lopsided exchange rates and potential natural disasters are two reasons why Toyota officials said they plan to shift production of the Lexus ES from Japan to the U.S. during a news conference in New York earlier today \u2013 but TheDetroitBureau.com has learned of yet another reason. The Kyushu plant currently producing the Lexus sedan will need to make room for an all-new model the luxury maker is getting ready to bring to market.<\/p>\n

While Jim Lentz, Toyota\u2019s top North American executive declined to identify that new model, sources indicate it is likely to be a compact crossover filling a niche below the current RX line. Lentz did say Lexus expects it could yield more than the 50,000 units of annual demand the ES currently generates.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Last Word!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He also hinted, that this new model and other possibly offerings Lexus is looking at are part of the brand\u2019s push to shift focus from the Baby Boomers who currently dominate its customer ranks to the next generation of luxury buyers. \u201cWe\u2019re always looking at the luxury business which will change over time,\u201d explained Lentz during a one-on-one conversation with TheDetroitBureau.com.\u00a0 \u201cThe consumption of luxury and what it means to Boomers may be very different for Gen-Y.\u00a0 We need to prepare ourselves for what younger luxury buyers will want.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result, don\u2019t be surprised to see Lexus \u2013 and its competitors \u2013 \u201cscrap\u201d some of its current line-up as they lose their market appeal.\u00a0 Precisely what will replace those products, Lentz isn\u2019t ready to say, but if other luxury leaders are any indication, there\u2019s likely to be a continuing shift to smaller and greener products, whether they use advanced gasoline and diesel technologies or hybrid, plug-in or pure battery electric powertrains.<\/p>\n

And the conventional line between sedans, coupes and crossovers will continue to blur, suggested several industry analysts asked about the likely direction Lexus will take.<\/p>\n

For some of Toyota\u2019s competitors, the shifting sands of the luxury market have triggered a proliferation of product never seen before. Mercedes, which once debated the need for the \u201cBaby Benz,\u201d today\u2019s C-Class, has downsized with the B- and A-Class lines and reportedly will follow with the new X-Class.<\/p>\n

Asked if Lexus will go mano-a-mano, Lentz said that\u2019s not the Japanese brand\u2019s strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to rationalize our line-up.\u00a0 We can\u2019t just add more and more and more,\u201d he cautioned.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think we can be everything to everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Lexus may be the third-largest luxury brand in the U.S. market, said Toyota\u2019s new President of North America, it is still a fairly new brand in many key regions of the world where it got off to a relatively late start, including Europe and, ironically, in Japan.\u00a0 As a result, Lentz stressed, \u201cWe don\u2019t have the sheer volume\u201d to be able to match the competition, product for product.<\/p>\n

With the tweaks now in motion, he added, the current line-up should continue to deliver good profits to parent Toyota.<\/p>\n

The decision to move the Lexus ES to the U.S. will require a more than $500 million update at the maker\u2019s Georgetown, Kentucky plant. But it\u2019s part of a broader increase in production that should boost North American capacity from 1.8 million last year to 2 million by around 2015, Lentz told TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n

For the moment, that appears to position the maker well, and should mean that about 75% of the vehicles sold in the region will be produced here.<\/p>\n

That may surprise those expecting to see Toyota shift at least some production of the Prius hybrid to the U.S.\u00a0 But while that is not in the current plans, Lentz added he would quickly \u201craise my hand\u201d if corporate planners decide to further increase Prius production.<\/p>\n

Lentz\u2019s promotion, several months back, marked a major milestone for a Toyota Motor Co. undergoing rapid change under the guidance of President Akio Toyoda \u2013 grandson of its founder. He is one of four non-Japanese now heading major divisions of the company, and the second American with Mark Templin overseeing Lexus worldwide. A third American, former General Motors rising executive Mark Hogan was also placed on the Toyota board, the company\u2019s first outside director.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While lopsided exchange rates may be one reason Lexus will start building the ES sedan in the US in 2015, TheDetroitBureau.com has learned that the move was also triggered by the need to use the Kyushu, Japan plan to produce an all-new model — likely a compact crossover — targeting the next generation of luxury buyers. And it signals a potentially dramatic shift in Lexus strategy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[151],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60387"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60387"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=60387"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=60387"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=60387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}