“When you’re stuck in traffic, people look at the driver in the Mercedes as a person who has made it in society, and they will envy you. We haven’t fully achieved that compared with the German three (Mercedes-Benz, the Volkswagen Group and BMW),” says outgoing Lexus president Tokuo Fukuichi, who will be succeeded by Yoshihiro Sawa,
Now the newly appointed chief branding officer at parent company Toyota, Fukuichi is looking to create what is called “Lexus envy,” reinventing the itself to become a lifestyle brand rather than a “glorified Toyota.” As reported by Automotive News, Toyota president Akio Toyoda has given Fukuichi freedom to address any issue related to branding in his new role, including product planning and technology, marketing as well as advertising.
“I’m able to do whatever I want,” said Fukuichi, who added that part of the problem stemmed from platform sharing and thinly disguised rebadging between the brands. “Let’s clearly define Lexus and wait and decide that some things can only be Lexus and not applied to Toyota. I would like to clarify that sort of distinction,” he explained.
Even though Lexus frequently top the durability and customer satisfaction charts (i.e. J.D. Power study), the marque still loses out to the Germans in terms of sales. “Lexus’ strengths such as quality and service can’t be fully appreciated unless you’re in the car driving. Better quality isn’t that necessary. Better brand power is,” stated Fukuichi.
The company is already on the path of reinvention, introducing new models like the LC coupe and all-new LS sedan. The former is a big boost for the premium brand, which has been devoid of a halo car ever since production of the V10-powered LFA came to an end in 2012.
Aside from cars, Lexus also has its sights set on boat-building, debuting its Sport Yacht – a 42-foot one-off concept styled by Lexus designers – in Miami back in January. There’s also the Skyjet, a Lexus-branded spaceship prop that will be featured in the upcoming science fiction movie Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.
These efforts are part of Fukuichi’s vision for Lexus to match up to the brand envy enjoyed by the Big Three. “After you purchase a Lexus, your whole lifestyle changes. The people you meet and circulate with change. That means with just one car, your total life image will change,” he said.
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Glorified toyota? More like overpriced Toyota.
Sushis will never be able to match the refinement & taste of fine wurst.
When we talk about watches, we always talk about Swiss.
A Lange can never be one of the Swiss Big 3 topped by Patek.
Rolex is not even the top 5, mind you.
Finally, the truth is out. It is just a Toyota. Even every part of the Lexus got the words, Made by Toyota. They just put soft leather and Malaysians get excited pay RM400k.
You see overseas, a Toyota and a Lexus got not much price difference. But in Malaysia, the Lexus is many many many times more than the Toyota.
That is why it sells well globally. White man don’t mind paying a few thousand USD more to buy a Lexus.
But Malaysians are bodoh to pay Rm400k for a Toyota. Case in point, the RX200 sold for RM450k.
Even BMW X5 is RM388k and Volvo XC90 T8 is RM400k. Both cars hundreds better than the Toyota in disguise name of Lexus
Looks like u’re a bitter Toyota/Lexus hater Mr. John. I wonder what car you drive and whether u’re posh enough to make this kinda hateful comment and critic.
How does my E keras matters how posh i am to qualify to comment?
U may own an E-class but u definitely are not respected.
Forgive him James. He have been driving his Gen-2 for far too long hence frustrated of almost everything made by Sushi.
I won’t be surprised he is dreaming of driving/owning one of these marvelous machines.
Gen-2 & E class signal stick placed on the left. So its same same Premium…
It would always be a glorified toyota unless some major shake up and positioning of the brand is done.
Right now you cannot really pin what kind of image of people that drives a Lexus. That is what they need to position themselves for. Mercedes is for those who prefer luxury and comfort. BMW for those who loves to drive their cars and be proud of it. Audi is for those who like luxurious understatement and familiarity. So what kind of owners Lexus is aiming for? If say they are pushing for young, successful and tech savvy demographics, then they need to push that, to young successful billionaires so that the car is synonymous with that kind of image.
Lexus will always be branded as a ‘glorified Toyota’ for they are the youngest mainstream automotive brand in the world. They lack the pedigree and the rich history of marques like the three pointed star, the blue propeller or the 4 rings….. and also the existence simpletons who calls them an ‘glorified Toyota’ from their German marque, as they make their way to their service center to get their weekly 6 digit parts replacement on their Teutonic automobile.
Make no mistakes, German car hits that right spot of being an absolute all rounder in value, performance, luxury and technology. But Lexus are by far from just and ‘overglorified Toyota’. To me, design and quality alone surpasses that of an equivalent brand from the land of Merkel. And my favorite part of it all, unlike some other brands, they try their very best to be the anti-thesis of the German brand with their bold styling and power plant choices. The only thing that’s a letdown on modern Lexuses are their infotainment system, gawd those are horrible.
Toyota buy Lotus, like Jaguar dan volvo so success.
“Glorified Toyota” will easily beat the Germans on reliability basis, but not on brand image. The price of Lexus also is a factor…You cannot compete with the established german cars, so you must lower the price of Lexus.
Hmm…i think its more bcoz of the design, too japanese manga ish…ultraman …robotic ….lexus looks to sci fi/futuristic to be taken seriously by the luxury segment buyer. U need a product that look a bit matured, sombre ish, conservative…just looks at AUDI..soo dull!
“Toyota president Akio Toyoda has given Fukuichi freedom to address any issue related to branding in his new role, including product planning and technology, marketing as well as advertising.”
Possibly not enough, as Japan has a speed limit of 110km/h on highways, which is not existent in Mercedes’, Audi’s and BMW’s home country.
Example: Many customers from the US, Japan and China pick up their newly purchased Porsche’s directly at the factory in Gemany, combined with a short holiday on the speedlimit-less “Autobahn”.
There’s even an industry around that, which organizes trips, accommodations, temporary registering the cars, car insurance and even catering.
Overpriced in Malaysia. Thats why it failed. It shall price 25% lower than German
Lexus ‘GT’ = Lexus Glorified Toyota
Please make sure next-gen CT model has turbo engine which can compete with next gen A-class and 1 series. If lexus CT staying with hybrid model or using current prius engine, the brand will always 2-3 steps behind the german-3
Yes of course, what did you expect.
When you have a revolting design and an 80s interior.
One simple reason that makes Lexus still trails the German Big 3 in terms of brand power or allure – The German luxury marques long heritage & persona which is a fact and the reality, and to the eyes of the public Lexus simply does’nt have that.It could have been Lexus vs the German Big 3 plus 1 British (Jaguar), but the current Jaguars are a big letdown in terms of overall design classiness especially in the interior & exterior. Lexus could overcome this lack-of-heritage factor and seriously challenge the Germans if they can start to thoroughly review their design direction & come out with more elegant & beautiful designs. Because majority of the remarks by the public especially from the Western world, Lexus cars have excellent quality but not a thing of beauty (with the exception of Lexus LC)..
Person who has not made it in society. Volvo
There are many lexus on the roads…so it speaks volume of their image…and the price is not cheap either…lets consumers decide what they want to drive..its a matter of choice .but to benchmark it against merc is a joke…merz designs are nothing to shout about…not revolutionary enough…one sausage different sizes…
I thought he meant BMW, Mercedes and Porsche. Audi isn’t quite the level of those 3 yet, but getting close, as is Lexus. At least not as bad as Acura, who are older than Lexus, but are terribly confused, making supposedly luxury cars based on Honda cars. Problem is recent Honda offerings like the Pilot is almost Acura level of luxury. The Lexus IS, GS, LS and LFA are not based or shared with any Toyotas.
Better quality isn’t that necessary. Better brand power is. So true.
Hard plastics interior, Honda owners in Mesia happy beruk…
Lexus lacks thief / robber / abductor magnet as compared to the Germany’s Big Three
A Lexus here likely belong to gangsters so who dare to steal one.
I think the statement is geared more towards Asia and Europe..In north america..Lexus is seen as THE car to be in for that upper middle class segment…that’s why it sells in droves there.. The problem is..us Asians have a certain mentality to often (but not always) associate ‘classy’ with ‘white skin’ colour… which is why ang moh love it in Asia because they are treated like ‘white saviours’…
this ‘colonial ‘ mindset also stretches towards our buying decisions for cars.. more so in SEA region.. they are fine with lugging around in toyota and honda when they are middle class but cannot accept luxury Japanese cars which even BMW and Merc engineers have often indirectly admitted were better in many ways..especially build quality and refinement…
As for Europeans, they always tend to support brands from their region so they are just being loyal which is how it should be I guess.. badge snobbery is primarily an Asian problem..and it’s sad one buys a car just to show others they are well off and not because they might necessarily like the product..
BMW and Merc make good cars but so does Lexus and Infiniti…they just dont have the same mindshare due to partly what I mentioned above..
U are absolutely right. Bcos of this, the Japs created a division to make a Lexus/Acura/Infiniti to cater to the Whites who want something better, more reliable & bigger engine to rival the Germans & they don’t mind paying more than the mainstream Toyota/Honda/Nissan.
In fact, the Lexus did it so well that they were voted as one of the top car/brand in USA by their own people. Lexus sold a total of 652,000 vehicle worldwide in 2015. It soon made a name worldwide hence the mainland Chinese Bosses including Hong Kong & Middle-east start buying Lexus.
Lexus looks more macho than the German counterparts.
Can’t you see your cars are crying with looong teardrop?
Oh, bullied and look-downed by the BIG 3…. no wonder you cry like a baby… poor thing.. (yet with expensive price tag!)
i dont care about the germans, i am more into asian. they are more reliable.
Yes! Because Lexus exterior design is so freaking fancy/ugly! It looks like a CLOWN!
Here’s a little secret for Toyota to heed. In order to be noticed, you have to be a leader in something and not a follower. Mercedes has led in terms of safety and perceived quality for years. BMW in terms of driving satisfaction, Audi in terms of solidly built interiors and staunch front wheel drive advocates. Lexus? Hmmm. Well made, like the other luxury makers, more reliable perhaps.
I have always said that the LS460 should have a 3litre engine and price it to compete with the BMW730Li, Mercedes 3 litre S class, Audi A8 and the Jaguar XJ.
Lexus stubbornly refuses to put their small engine inside it’s flagship model, whereas Jaguar and the 7 series have downsized to even 2 litres..
Their marketing department must have a reason for this,but I don’t agree with their present strategy.
Lexus needs to start competing in F1 then. Not as Toyota, as Lexus
Because your cars are bloody overpriced . You are like Huawei smartphones…new kid on the block but wanna price your vehicles at the same level as well established German marque. Building brands take years to achieve . Even yourobbers interior quality is not so good . Boring and dull.
Still remember when Lexus first launched the LS400 in early 90s, it became laughing stock. But things changed almost immediately after Lexus did a recall, just to check a reported cigarette lighter failure.
The recall made Lexus looking impressive.
When Lexus launched the 3 series competitor, it gave both BMW and merc the sums of all fears. But even though the car was good, it did lacking in image which is still the issue today
Because the car design look like a CLOWN nowadays!
How to have image when the front grill are basically this shape: > <
The family look of Mercedes Benz, BMW, Porsche are evolution of a century old design. That kind of stubbornness, that persistent, that believe in self value despite challenging times, are what make the German brands so admired today. This is not something that can be bought or create over short period of time.
The Japanese Marques didn’t have this tradition. Their design philosophy changes every so often. They simply don’t have a “face” to their name.
This is also abit like the watch industry. Patek Phillipe command that much premium mostly because of its heritage, its persistent. It is not something a Japanese or some cheap Chinese or Indian companies can emulate just by throwing money at marketing. The only way to do it is buy over them.