Lexus Certain of Surpassing 300,000, Two NAIAS Debuts Possible

DETROIT – Lexus says selling more than 300,000 vehicles in the U.S. in 2014 is almost a certainty, with a plan to hit 305,000 by the close of December.

Through October, Lexus U.S. deliveries stood at 244,038 units, a 14.3% increase from like-2013, WardsAuto data shows. The brand typically sells 20,000-23,000 units per month, so it will have to rack up a strong November and December to make up the difference.

Lexus last surpassed 300,000 in 2007, with 329,177 delivered.

Lexus Group Vice President Jeff Bracken, speaking to WardsAuto last week in Los Angeles and addressing the Automotive Press Assn. here today, believes getting over 300,000 will be easy.

December is “absolutely the best month of the year” for Lexus, he says.

In the L.A. interview, Bracken credits the unexpected strength of the U.S. light-vehicle industry, and the even better performance of the luxury sector in 2014, for boosting Lexus’ U.S. sales goal for this year above the 290,000-unit target set in January.

Total U.S. light-vehicle sales were up 5.4% through October to 13.643 million, and luxury volume was up 6.1% in the same period, to 1.671 million.

Incentives during Lexus’ annual “December to Remember” holiday sales event typically are its “strongest of the year, and that’s how we’ve positioned ourselves this year,” Bracken tells WardsAuto.

He says he isn’t sweating the fact the Germans may be coming on stronger with their spiffs, as is usually the case, telling the Detroit crowd, “We’re OK with that.”

“December to Remember” started Nov. 24, and Lexus.com shows financing of 0.9% available on most ’15 models, with lease deals ranging from $299 per month for the ’15 CT 200h hybrid hatchback, to $499 per month for the all-new ’15 RC 350 all-wheel-drive coupe, to $699 for the ’15 Lexus LS large sedan. The amount of money buyers need to put down and the lengths of leases vary by model.

The Lexus rates are lower than those of BMW, for instance, although the German brand has lengthier loan periods, and BMW is throwing in holiday bonus cash on many vehicles, in amounts up to $3,500.

Bracken says while it’s true the brand’s U.S. sales increases are slowing year-over-year, with October’s 2.8% climb Lexus’ smallest of 2014, the all-new RC and NX compact CUV should keep it in the black in monthly sales next year.

The RC, with V-6 and V-8 engines, already is on sale at U.S. Lexus dealers, while the NX, available with hybrid and turbocharged powertrains, hits brand stores Dec. 1.

Bracken tells WardsAuto the RC and NX will contribute 1,000 and 3,000 units, respectively, to Lexus’ December sales tally.

Lexus plans to sell 40,000 NXs annually in the U.S., up from a 25,000-unit initial internal target, and deliver 16,800 RCs per year.

Meanwhile, Bracken says Lexus will have at least one, if not two, models debuting at January’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

He doesn’t divulge details, but one is likely the first look at the next-generation RX midsize CUV. The RX last was redesigned for ’09, and WardAuto’s product-cycle chart shows a next-generation is due in ’16.

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