https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Au...?del_type=4&pub_date=20230204090000&seq_num=3
Toyota targets the rich with new Century, Lexus models in Japan
Automaker hopes to take on luxury heavyweights like Rolls-Royce and Bentley
An SUV version of Toyota's Century luxury car will go on sale later this year. (Photo courtesy of Toyota)
KAZUHIRO NOGUCHI, Nikkei staff writerFebruary 4, 2023 06:01 JST
NAGOYA, Japan -- Toyota Motor plans to flesh out its lineup of large ultraluxury vehicles in Japan, in a bid to capture a downturn-resilient market and upgrade its brand image.
The company plans to release an SUV version of the Century luxury model focused on the Japanese market, as well as a minivan under the Lexus brand that has sold well in China. Both are likely to be priced in the mid-10 million yen range to over 20 million yen (10 million yen equals $76,300).
The Century SUV, which will be positioned above Toyota's current top-of-the-line SUV -- Land Cruiser -- will be launched in August or later. It is expected to be a hybrid vehicle based on the midsized Highlander series sold in North America. Production will be handled at the company's Tahara Plant in Aichi prefecture where Lexus vehicles are manufactured.
The Century, launched in 1967, has been popular as a chauffeured car for Japan's imperial family, politicians and business owners. The price of the current Century, which was completely redesigned in 2018, is about 20 million yen.
The new Century SUV is expected to be in at least the mid-10 million yen range. Toyota is likely to aim for sales to wealthy people overseas and for use as official vehicles.
Lexus' first minivan, dubbed the LM, is likely to go on sale in Japan in the latter half of the fiscal year. The hybrid vehicle has been sold in China since 2020, where it is priced at about 1.16 million yuan to 1.46 million yuan ($171,000 to $215,000).
The Lexus LM carries a price tag of over $170,000 in China. (Photo courtesy of Toyota)
The LM is so popular in China that has sold for more on the used car market than its base price.
Production of the LM will be transferred from subsidiary Toyota Auto Body's Inabe Plant in Mie prefecture to Toyota's Tahara Plant, as the company seems to want to refine product quality by relying on a plant that regularly handles Lexus.
Behind Toyota's ultraluxury push is a desire to capture some of the global market dominated by British companies such as Rolls-Royce and Bentley, as well as to boost brand power. In the past, Toyota sold a limited run of the Lexus LFA sports car for 37.5 million yen, but the Century is currently its highest-grade offering among mass-produced cars for the Japanese market.
Despite concerns about a global economic slowdown, appetite for luxury brands among the wealthy is strong, as evidenced by the recent earnings of French luxury brand LVMH. Rolls-Royce, which mainly sells cars that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, sold a record 6,021 units in 2022, up 8% from 2021. A Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV is priced at over $300,000.
Downturn proof: Rolls-Royce sold a record 6,021 units in 2022. (Photo by Soma Kawakami)
Bentley sold 11,000 vehicles in the January-September period. Its operating profit during those nine months was 575 million euros ($621 million at current rates), exceeding in just nine months the record profit of 389 million euros for the full year of 2021.
The automaker's operating profit margin was 23%, and sales per unit was about 30 million yen. Operating profit per unit was just under 7 million yen, more than 30 times Toyota's figure of 200,000 yen during the same period.
Although Toyota has a full lineup that includes everything from minivehicles to luxury cars, it believes it still has room to expand at the high end. As the cost of raw materials and wages go up, increasing gross profit per unit is likely to be an important strategy.
Toyota targets the rich with new Century, Lexus models in Japan
Automaker hopes to take on luxury heavyweights like Rolls-Royce and Bentley
An SUV version of Toyota's Century luxury car will go on sale later this year. (Photo courtesy of Toyota)
KAZUHIRO NOGUCHI, Nikkei staff writerFebruary 4, 2023 06:01 JST
NAGOYA, Japan -- Toyota Motor plans to flesh out its lineup of large ultraluxury vehicles in Japan, in a bid to capture a downturn-resilient market and upgrade its brand image.
The company plans to release an SUV version of the Century luxury model focused on the Japanese market, as well as a minivan under the Lexus brand that has sold well in China. Both are likely to be priced in the mid-10 million yen range to over 20 million yen (10 million yen equals $76,300).
The Century SUV, which will be positioned above Toyota's current top-of-the-line SUV -- Land Cruiser -- will be launched in August or later. It is expected to be a hybrid vehicle based on the midsized Highlander series sold in North America. Production will be handled at the company's Tahara Plant in Aichi prefecture where Lexus vehicles are manufactured.
The Century, launched in 1967, has been popular as a chauffeured car for Japan's imperial family, politicians and business owners. The price of the current Century, which was completely redesigned in 2018, is about 20 million yen.
The new Century SUV is expected to be in at least the mid-10 million yen range. Toyota is likely to aim for sales to wealthy people overseas and for use as official vehicles.
Lexus' first minivan, dubbed the LM, is likely to go on sale in Japan in the latter half of the fiscal year. The hybrid vehicle has been sold in China since 2020, where it is priced at about 1.16 million yuan to 1.46 million yuan ($171,000 to $215,000).
The Lexus LM carries a price tag of over $170,000 in China. (Photo courtesy of Toyota)
The LM is so popular in China that has sold for more on the used car market than its base price.
Production of the LM will be transferred from subsidiary Toyota Auto Body's Inabe Plant in Mie prefecture to Toyota's Tahara Plant, as the company seems to want to refine product quality by relying on a plant that regularly handles Lexus.
Behind Toyota's ultraluxury push is a desire to capture some of the global market dominated by British companies such as Rolls-Royce and Bentley, as well as to boost brand power. In the past, Toyota sold a limited run of the Lexus LFA sports car for 37.5 million yen, but the Century is currently its highest-grade offering among mass-produced cars for the Japanese market.
Despite concerns about a global economic slowdown, appetite for luxury brands among the wealthy is strong, as evidenced by the recent earnings of French luxury brand LVMH. Rolls-Royce, which mainly sells cars that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, sold a record 6,021 units in 2022, up 8% from 2021. A Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV is priced at over $300,000.
Downturn proof: Rolls-Royce sold a record 6,021 units in 2022. (Photo by Soma Kawakami)
Bentley sold 11,000 vehicles in the January-September period. Its operating profit during those nine months was 575 million euros ($621 million at current rates), exceeding in just nine months the record profit of 389 million euros for the full year of 2021.
The automaker's operating profit margin was 23%, and sales per unit was about 30 million yen. Operating profit per unit was just under 7 million yen, more than 30 times Toyota's figure of 200,000 yen during the same period.
Although Toyota has a full lineup that includes everything from minivehicles to luxury cars, it believes it still has room to expand at the high end. As the cost of raw materials and wages go up, increasing gross profit per unit is likely to be an important strategy.
