Toyota to roll out Lexus in India

mumbai — Toyota Motor is bringing its premium Lexus brand to India more than two decades after introducing the marque in China, an acknowledgment of the second-most populous country’s growing potential as a source of luxury demand.

Lexus will offer two SUVs and a sedan as the first models to be sold at showrooms in New Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai and Bengaluru, according to a company statement.

“We see opportunities mapped to the remarkable growth the country is experiencing,” Akitoshi Takemura, Lexus India senior vice president, said in the statement. “This is just beginning. We look forward to bringing more exciting products to India in the future.”

Rising income levels have helped double passenger-vehicle sales in India over the last 10 years, according to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers data. Consumer spending is set to triple to $4 trillion by 2025 with rising affluence, Boston Consulting Group said in a March 21 report.

The wealthy will represent the largest consumer segment for the first time by 2025, accounting for 40 per cent of all spending, according to the study.

Even so, automobile deliveries are about a 10th of neighbouring China, a country with a comparable population of more than a billion people.

As a newcomer, Lexus will have to compete with the German trio of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz for luxury buyers. Toyota is bringing its upscale brand to India at a time when carmakers are warning of slowing demand in major auto markets including the US, Europe and Japan. —