New Weekly article
Lexus, which has always prided itself on elegance, has recently stepped into the spotlight of the automotive circle.
The reason for being out of the circle is not that a scandal suddenly broke out, but that this Japanese luxury car brand, which insists on "high quality" and "original imports", is likely to be domestically produced.
On the last day of June this year, a report first published by Bloomberg made the car circle suddenly boil. According to the report, Lexus' parent company, Toyota, is in talks with Chinese authorities to build a wholly-owned Lexus plant in Shanghai and produce pure electric models at the new plant. Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, said that Toyota also proposed in the negotiations that it hopes to "be on par with Tesla" in terms of treatment and taxes.
A month later, the domestic auto media broke the exclusive news that Lexus will take the lead in the production of a new UX hybrid version and a new pure electric model under the premise of building an independent factory in China, and the new car will be sold in overseas markets such as Japan at the same time as it is sold in China.
Lexus, which insists on "not domestic", has finally changed its tune? (Photo/Unsplash)
What is intriguing is that at the "Toyota GR Carnival" held in Shanghai in June this year, the 68-year-old Toyota Motor Chairman (i.e., chairman) Akio Toyoda came to China again after five years, and it was also rumored that this trip would focus on promoting the localization of Lexus. But the old man was playful and only "showed" a drift technique to the audience.
The reporter of New Weekly asked the relevant person of Toyota's China public relations department for verification, and the other party said that "it is inconvenient to interpret too much, and you can always pay attention to the news on the official website". This reply is similar to Toyota China's response in the past month. In the face of inquiries from different media, most of them politely refused to interview with "no response to rumors".
However, many professional automotive media that have been following Lexus (and Toyota) for a long time have faintly smelled the change in wind direction from the cautious response
In fact, the rumors of Lexus' "localization" have not stopped in the past few years. But in the past, Lexus always had a straightforward attitude and directly denied it with the words "false report".
"No response" vs. "false reporting", just the softening of attitudes can arouse a lot of imagination.
Some people interpret Lexus's hope to land in China as "gathering momentum", while others feel that this is Toyota's rebuilding the compulsory course of electrification.
Top Gun was born
The Chinese are no strangers to Lexus.
After officially entering the Chinese market in 2004, Lexus's various car series were "hot goods" in short supply, and the sales myth created not only stole the limelight from BBA, but also made more luxurious brands such as Porsche bow down.
This is the A side of Lexus that dominates the market, and its B side - low-key, practical, and rarely needs to be repaired, these are countless plus points for fans.
The owner of the Lexus circle fan, the evaluation of it is like the writer Wang Xiaobo's words in "The Year of Flowing Water": "The year of flowing water is everything owned by a person, and only this thing really belongs to you." ”
This passage was later used by Lexus as an advertising copy about the trivial life of the family, without galloping and exciting background music, but with a consistent and indifferent style, which fascinated car gamers all over the world.
In a word: steady.
Just like Takumi Fujiwara, who was trained to "not leak" on Mt. Akina, the "stability" of a car is always full of charm. And Lexus's fame is also because of "stability". In 1989, Lexus stacked 15 glasses of champagne on the engine cover of its classic LS 400 to form a five-story champagne tower, which started and quickly reached a speed of 232 kilometers per hour.
The commercial, called Balance, is still regarded as a classic by fans to this day. (Photo/Lexus official website)
With only a few lines of narration, the half-minute commercial became an instant sensation. In United States, the world's largest car market at the time, many people called specifically to ask whether the advertisement was true, and some people went to test drive after hearing the news, and the results were conquered by the car's quiet engine - compared with other luxury cars, Lexus was "as quiet as a beast hiding behind its prey and ready to attack", which was both shocking and obsessive.
At that time, Lexus was only a new brand that had been established for 6 years. Just like Tesla, the electric car brand that fascinates the world today, the LS 400 was born out of nowhere, and immediately attracted the attention of many big names. Among them are Microsoft founder Bill · Gates, and Hollywood director Steven ·Spielberg, who did not hesitate to place an order for "Krypton Gold" after watching the champagne tower advertisement for the LS 400.
With the blessing of brains and celebrities, Lexus quickly gained a large number of fans in North America. Less than a year after its launch, the Lexus LS 400 surpassed the BMW 7 and Mercedes-Benz W126 in sales in United States, making Toyota, which is eager to compete with a number of established car companies in the European and American markets, earn enough face.
Chinese's perception of Lexus was also in its infancy. In South China, Lexus, whose name clearly indicates "luxury", has another low-key but connotative "Chinese name" - "Lingzhi".
Many Guangdong tycoons who got rich first in the reform and opening up are especially fond of this "Lingyun Ambition" and are willing to "krypton gold" for this luxurious identity with regional characteristics.
There is an urban legend in Guangdong that "Lingzhi is good and life is happy", and Lexus also appears frequently in many TVB dramas. (Photo/"Rushing to the Clouds 2")
From "God-like beings"
to gradually fall off the altar
At the end of 1991, with an annual sales record of 71,000 units, Lexus became the best-selling luxury imported car in United States, and at the turn of the century, Lexus beat the old United States luxury car brand Cadillac, and then topped the list of best-selling luxury cars in North America for 11 consecutive years, and became a god in the United States car circle.
However, what makes Lexus a "god-like existence" is not just unmatched sales.
A popular urban legend in automotive circles is that three months after the launch of the Lexus LS 400 in the United States, it announced a recall of all 8,000 sold cars and free maintenance. The reason for the announcement of a large-scale recall was "only" two of the inconspicuous glitches – one was a faulty brake light and the other was a cruise control failure.
United States were baffled by this operation, but later found it to be another shrewd form of marketing. You must know that at that time, the owner of the car was recalled and the owner had to pay, and there was basically no after-sales service.
This is not yet the most "radical" side of Lexus.
By 2002, Lexus had completely upgraded its stores in the United States, not only with extensive wood decorations and glass curtain walls, but also with refreshment bars, indoor golf courses, artisan coffee, designer boutiques and grand pianos, focusing on allowing owners to quickly establish a sophisticated and elegant identity.
On social media, many people regard Lexus' 4S flagship store as a replacement for high-end hotels. Netizens who went to visit the store were deeply attracted by the extremely exquisite decoration design and complete refreshment benefits, and called such a lifestyle "really luxurious".
On social media, many people regard Lexus' 4S flagship store as a replacement for high-end hotels. (Photo/Screenshot of Xiaohongshu)
A Tian from Dongguan has been a Lexus owner since 2012. Ah Tian told New Weekly that before each departure for maintenance, he would bring a family with him and arrive at the 4S store at the time of the meal. "Because in this way, not only can you enjoy an exquisite free lunch, but you can also have a massage at the health station in the 4S store, or watch a quiet afternoon movie in the starry sky theater, and the whole family feels very enjoyable."
In the era of automobiles, when fuel vehicles were dominant, cars not only represented face, but also a symbol of social status. Lexus, which emphasizes the philosophy of life, regards consumers as darlings and is eager to become middle-class consumers as soon as possible, so it is naturally willing to pay for Lexus.
Lexus entered China and is in the stage of rapid development of reform and opening up, and people's wealth is accumulating, and it also needs to be worthy of a status symbol. Therefore, three years after officially entering China, Lexus's annual sales in the Chinese market have reached nearly 50,000 units, becoming the "dark horse" of China's luxury car market. In the following years, Lexus's sales soared, reaching 235,400 units at its peak, ranking first among a number of second-tier luxury car brands such as Cadillac, Lincoln, and Volvo.
But this scenery has lasted for nearly 30 years, and in recent years it has begun to be challenged. According to the 2022 financial report, Lexus's annual sales in the Chinese market will be 176,000 units, a year-on-year decrease of 22.4%. In July of the same year, a million-yuan Lexus LM 300h luxury MPV had a serious traffic accident in Guangxi, and the door was locked and could not be opened, resulting in the death of one person in the car, causing the public to question the safety performance of Lexus.
The "Lexus" style of life, which makes outsiders red, has been imitated and surpassed by countless car companies today. For example, NIO, which continues to challenge Lexus's luxury status, has not only successfully reproduced Lexus's "champagne tower", but also opened NIO House overseas and meticulous "nanny service", which has made the new generation of car consumers want to stop.
In contrast, many Lexus owners have gradually found that the value-added services provided by flagship stores have begun to shrink, "a little bit is better than nothing".
I don't know what it will be like for Lexus to visit NIO's "cow house" all over the country. (Photo/Visual China)
Not to mention that in the era of intelligence and electrification, Lexus is undecided-
It wasn't until February 2023 that Lexus officially released its first true all-electric model, the RZ450e, but its battery capacity and range, which people care about most, are mediocre and much inferior to similar models.
As if "everyone is in the dark", the "fairy" car company that once dared to challenge the old luxury cars and show its luxury status with a low profile was gradually pulled down from the altar by a large number of new opponents.
The transformation of Japanese luxury car brands,
What are the odds of winning in China
In the era of fuel vehicles, Lexus has become Toyota's "profit cow" in the Chinese market by virtue of its rising sales. However, when intelligence and electrification became the mainstream, and affected by the price war in the auto market, Lexus, which once "rushed to buy at a higher price", began to "adapt to the soil". Even if sales will rebound slightly in 2023, reaching 181,000 units, it is the result of "exchanging price for volume".
For example, Lexus's main model, the ES series, basically had to increase the price by 10,000-20,000 yuan a few years ago to pick up the car. After the price war started, 4S stores in many places have opened large discounts, and the preferential range in some areas is even as high as 90,000 yuan - this concession price is already equivalent to an ordinary family car with decent configuration.
Everyone knows how big the price increase is for Lexus, but a "price increase turmoil" related to Lexus at the beginning of this year has stunned consumers both online and offline. (Photo/Live Hainan)
Lexus is not saying no to all-electric vehicles. As early as 2019, Lexus announced its "electrification" vision to accelerate the brand's full electrification, and in the same year launched the first all-electric model UX 300e based on Toyota's GA-C platform under the TNGA architecture. But it is a thorough "oil to electric" model, and the market has already given the answer to how many consumers can impress.
After all, Toyota, the parent company of Lexus, once relied on its own hybrid technology to spread all over the world, and Toyota, which advocated taking the hydrogen energy route in the new energy era, was once very reluctant to pure electric vehicles. Toyota's executives even quarreled with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, accusing electric vehicles of "dissuading many consumers who have not yet been exposed to electric vehicles because of their high prices and poor public charging infrastructure."
Intriguingly, Toyota later launched several "basic versions" of pure electric vehicles to test the waters in the market, and even announced that it would cooperate with BYD to produce new pure electric models, which in a sense was a "slap in the face" for relevant remarks.
Tsuneji Sato, who once served as executive vice president of Lexus International, said that Lexus will lead Toyota's new electrification strategy and develop new electric vehicles for Lexus by 2026 using Toyota's own dedicated manufacturing platform for electric vehicles.
At this year's Tokyo Motor Show, Lexus once again emphasized that it will start the transformation phase of electrification in 2026 and become a pure electric brand in 2035, and the Chinese market "will play an important role".
Lexus may still be a long way from the era of true electrification. (Photo/Visual China)
Looking back at the Japanese luxury car companies that landed in China, Honda's Acura was completely "cool" in January last year and lost the Chinese market; Nissan's Infiniti, on the other hand, was revealed to have closed its doors and withdrawn from the network by a large number of dealers in China, and its future development is in jeopardy. Lexus, the only strong one, is obviously unwilling to give up on China, and it is also more aware of the importance of transformation.
However, the word "transformation" is extremely easy to say, but it is very difficult to achieve it successfully.
In the automotive industry, many well-known luxury brands have basically cooperated with domestic automakers and achieved localization. The other two Japanese luxury brands, Infiniti and Acura, which are neck and neck with Lexus, have also "married" with Dongfeng and GAC respectively, and both are produced in China.
So far, Lexus is the exception.
Currently, Lexus has only six production bases worldwide, three of which are located in Japan and the other three in United States, Canada and India. Lexus imports and sells Lexus in China mainly from Lexus' Kyushu plant in Japan, the world's largest factory.
Half of Lexus's production base is located in Japan, its home base. (Photo/Visual China)
For a traditional auto giant like Toyota, there are still many challenges in making a smooth turnaround and enabling Lexus to localize production and launch high-end electric vehicles in China.
What's more, today's Chinese auto market is no longer the chaotic state before Tesla entered the Chinese market. The joint venture brand models that used to dominate China's roads are now almost all replaced by domestic independent brands.
Whether Lexus will land in Shanghai as it wishes and become neighbors with Tesla in Pudong is now unknown. Perhaps, rather than becoming a catfish that stirs the market again after 35 years, stabilizing in the face of the impact of the back waves is a more realistic choice at the moment.