Toyota bucks slowing trend on sales of Lexus in China
Growing demand for the luxury Lexus brand has boosted China sales in the past year, supported by import tariff cuts
Tokyo — On Tuesday, Toyota said that it sees room to expand in China as growing sales of its luxury brand Lexus help it buck an emerging trend of slowing demand, which has hit profit at some of its global rivals. Japan’s biggest vehicle maker also raised its full-year operating profit forecast by 4.3%, saying improved marketing pushed up sales in China, Europe and elsewhere, while a weaker yen will have a bigger positive impact. Growing demand for Toyota’s Lexus luxury brand has boosted China sales in the past year. Import tariff cuts from July have also supported Lexus models, which are shipped from Japan — though Toyota is considering producing them locally, Reuters reported last month. This demand helped the vehicle maker weather the market’s steepest sales drop in nearly seven years in September amid a broader slowdown in economic growth. “Even if there is uncertainty in China, potentially, the market will grow in the longer term,” Didier Leroy, Toyota’s chief competitive office...
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