Lexus LS - Sales and Production

Sales and Production

2010 Lexus LS 600h L (UVF46; Japan) LS 460 lineup filmed at Crystal Palace, London in 2009

In its largest market, the U.S., the Lexus LS was the top-selling flagship luxury sedan for 15 of the first 17 years following its debut. In Japan, the next-largest market for the Lexus LS, the introduction of the 2007 LS 460 attracted 12,000 pre-orders, and the Lexus LS has gone on to sell successfully in its class. Following the introduction of the LS 460 and Lexus' expanded global launch in 2007, sales of the Lexus flagship have increasingly come from outside the brand's traditional U.S. strongholds. By 2007, the Lexus LS ranked second globally in flagship sales, next to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class' 85,500 units, with 71,760 Lexus LS sedans sold worldwide, and over half the total coming from outside the U.S. market. In 2008, U.S. sales fell 42% amidst the late-2000s recession, mirroring the overall decline of the luxury car market.

The Lexus LS has not sold as well in Europe, where Lexus suffers from smaller brand recognition, image, and a less-developed dealership network. In European markets such as the Czech Republic, the Lexus LS has ranked behind Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW in flagship luxury car sales. Automotive analysts have suggested a possible rationale for the sales disparity, in that European buyers place less emphasis on vehicle reliability and have more brand loyalty to established domestic marques. In contrast, the Lexus LS has ranked second in sales to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class (and ahead of rivals from BMW, Audi, and Jaguar) in markets outside Europe, such as South Africa.

Calendar year	Sales		Exports, production‡
	US	Global
1990	42,806		41,901
1991	36,955		41,228
1992	32,561		32,472
1993	23,783		28,187
1994	22,443		21,390
1995	23,657		22,433
1996	22,237		22,810
1997	19,618		17,782
1998	20,790		22,730
1999	16,357		17,198
2000	15,871		11,098
2001	31,110		31,473
2002	26,261		27,033
2003	23,895		21,461
2004	32,272		31,697
2005	26,043		28,902
2006	19,546	34,833	30,908‡
2007	35,226	71,760	72,279‡
2008	20,255		31,823‡
2009	11,334		18,369‡