Toyota aims to double Lexus sales in Europe

PARIS, Sept 23, 2004; Reuters reported that Toyota Motor Corp. will aim to double sales of its Lexus luxury models in Europe over the next several years by adding more models and cultivating an image of top quality and fuel efficiency that it enjoys in the United States, a top official said on Thursday.

"We need more competitive products for the Lexus brand in Europe," Tadashi Arashima, chief executive officer of Toyota Motor Marketing Europe (TMME) told Reuters in an interview at the sidelines of the Paris motor show.

"But Europeans are already becoming more and more receptive to Lexus, and we will aim to double sales in a little more than two or three years," he said.

While the mass-volume Toyota brand has achieved record sales in Europe for the past seven straight years, sales in the Lexus line have been up and down, peaking in 2001 at 23,837 units.

Arashima said, however, that the introduction of the RX400h hybrid luxury sport utility vehicle next spring and a remodeling of the GS model should help boost Lexus sales next year in Europe -- home to most of the world's top luxury brands.

In a separate interview, Toyota Motor Europe's executive vice president, Takis Athanasopoulos, said demand for Lexus cars in had been lacklustre also due to the lack of the diesel option, which makes up about half of Europe's luxury car market.

"But by 2006, the diesel-powered Lexus will be introduced," he said, adding that should be a significant boost for the brand.

The world's second-biggest auto maker is also set to challenge the dominance of European luxury marques in its home market when it brings the Lexus brand to Japan next year.

The Lexus is currently sold in virtually every market outside of Japan.