Lexus, on the other hand, has gone against the trend to increase the price without compromise. It is very similar to the existence of "alternative" to talk about the price increase with customers who look at cars.
Take lexus ES, the best seller in China, as an example. At present, the general price increase is more than 20 thousand, and you have to spend money to buy some decoration, extended warranty or several years of insurance. Even so, there is still a long way to pick up the car.
Many people can't help asking, is it really worthwhile to increase the price of Lexus? Is it worth more than 300,000 to buy a lexus ES?
Is the product worth?
Lexus has always been adhering to the "artisan spirit" of Japan, and its products are famous for their durability, stability and reliable quality. Today, Lexus still insists on "original import, not domestic". Because of this, due to the contradiction between supply and demand, it has long been a habit for China consumers to increase the price of Lexus.
As a luxury car brand developed for the North American market, Lexus is actually not expensive in the United States.
In China, the price of 200 vehicles in lexus es is 290,000 yuan, while in the United States, an ES 350 with a 3.5 V6 engine can be bought at the same price, and there will be no price increase. Similarly, the price of ES 300h in China is 359,000 yuan, much higher than that in the United States. Coupled with the fare increase, the price in China is more than 30% higher than that in the United States.
Undeniably, lexus ES is very successful in appearance design, sharp and elegant, and has a good grasp of the oriental aesthetic concept, which has successfully attracted the attention of many consumers. However, if we look at the interior of vehiclES, in fact, there is not much in lexus es.
Lexus ES's body size and wheelbase are similar to those of Audi A4L and Asian Dragon in medium-sized cars, but it has forced itself into a C-class car. In this way, the price in lexus ES does seem a bit expensive.
Luxury executive cars naturally need a calm driving posture, and appropriate power reserve is the premise. The domestic Lexus is not only more expensive than the United States, but also has lower power.
As mentioned earlier, 280,000 RMB can only buy the entry-level version of ES200 with12s+100s in China, and its power performance is slower than that of Camry. However, the same amount of money in the United States can offer ES350 in less than 6.6 seconds, which is not a disparity and is not enough to support its price.
At present, the latest generation ES uses the engine of the previous generation Camry, which is produced by GAC. Lexus ES's aura is purely imported, but it is unforgivable that the domestic engines used in the previous generation of ordinary mid-size cars were exported and then installed on the latest generation of large and medium-sized luxury cars. Toyota collects IQ tax with imported Lexus.
In terms of configuration, lexus ES also lost to Asian Dragon and Camry. Take tires as an example. It's 90 12 years. The new Camry Asian Dragon with a lower level uses 235/45 tires, while es, as a luxury brand, still uses the old Camry 2 15/55 tires, which is very shabby even in the ordinary B-class cars on the market at present.
Therefore, the launch of lexus ES 200 has firmly grasped the vanity of a considerable number of China people who are particularly good at buying cars. For these people, as long as the car logo has face and can attract others, the inherent quality of the car and the quality of the fundamental attributes of the car can be selectively ignored.
It looks unique in design, moderate in driving and Buddhist in use. This evaluation may be more suitable for the mythical Lexus. If you want to buy a performance car, you don't have to consider lexus ES. Through long-term word-of-mouth accumulation, Lexus has established its own "high-quality" brand image, labeled itself as "ingenuity" and even reached a deified level. It is with this image that the finely decorated Toyota-Lexus constantly grabs illegitimate interests from consumers.
Is the service worthwhile?
For a commodity, the value is not only reflected in the product, but also in various complex commercial factors. For big goods like cars, more and more people realize that after-sales service is also an important factor affecting the cost of car purchase.
It only took Lexus more than ten years to surpass Mercedes-Benz and BMW in North America from zero to sales volume, and it ranked first in American luxury car sales from 1999 to1year. Behind this, we have to say the service of Lexus in the American market.
Facing the "high above" German brand, young Lexus felt that he had the ability to challenge Mercedes-Benz, so he challenged Mercedes-Benz first and shouted the slogan "Half the price, the same enjoyment". Mercedes-Benz quickly responded with an advertisement: "Mercedes-Benz, a symbol of status".
Indeed, Lexus has not only greatly improved its safety and comfort, but also brought revolutionary service changes to the luxury car market.
Lexus has implemented a four-year 50,000-mile basic maintenance service for free, and is the first to launch a compliance plan for used cars, so that consumers can have no worries about car maintenance. The potential energy behind "half the price, the same enjoyment" is really amazing.
At the same time, Lexus signed a "Lexus Covenant" with American dealers, which stipulated a number of rules to treat consumers and tried to meet the needs of customers.
In Lexus' 4S store, there is a soundproof business center, equipped with computers and fax machines, which can monitor the maintenance of vehicles through floor-to-ceiling glass, a drink bar and even a souvenir shop. Other facilities such as children's playground, small indoor golf driving range and other entertainment services.
At the time of recall, Lexus will not charge any fees, customers will clean and refuel when they pick up the car, and online or offline questionnaires will be conducted after the service is completed.
Although this kind of service is very common to consumers in China today, and it is regarded as the standard of 4S stores of major brands, it was really a revolutionary change at that time.
After Lexus entered China in 2005, it took the lead in providing 4 years/100000 km (6 years/150000 km for hybrid cars) free warranty and maintenance services in the domestic luxury car market, and successively launched 24-hour spare parts repair, 24-hour road rescue, Lexus special insurance and G-BOOK center and other intimate after-sales services, which were well received by consumers.
Compared with other luxury brands that only provide the first guarantee for free, Lexus also saves consumers a lot of maintenance costs, which can be described as "value for money".
Lexus used to be "half the price, the same enjoyment", winning customers with super reliability and high-level service. However, time flies, things are different. Now Lexus is not the original craftsman, and RMB has become the primary goal of Lexus. Even if the price is increased, it is difficult to find it. What used to be "ingenuity" has now become a "black heart". Compared with Mercedes-Benz V-Class, the newly released Lexus LM is about 10 times the price. I don't know if there is 10 times enjoyment.
Is the brand worthwhile?
As a high-end sub-brand of Toyota, Lexus was founded in 1983. Compared with BBA, its history is only 30 years. However, it is such a luxury brand that lacks brand background and history and culture, but it only took more than ten years to become the first camp luxury brand in the American market.
The rapid development of Lexus is not unrelated to its product strength and service, and it also makes Lexus the most powerful luxury car brand in Asia.
At home, Chinese people are used to dividing first-line and second-line brands by sales volume. BBA is undoubtedly a first-line luxury brand, with annual sales of more than 2 million vehicles in the global market and more than 600,000 vehicles in the domestic market. Lexus has an annual global sales volume of 700,000 vehicles and an annual domestic sales volume of nearly 200,000 vehicles, which is undoubtedly a second-tier luxury brand.
Looking around the world, the gap between Lexus and BBA is quite obvious, and the sales volume and brand value are far less than BBA. In the United States, Lexus is a pure "domestic car", especially in China, Lexus is a pure "imported car".
Therefore, although Lexus is a second-tier luxury brand, its excellent reputation, long-term price increase and all-imported status make Lexus owners feel like "first-tier luxury brands", which also makes Lexus more "hung up and sold" in China.
Moreover, the automobile market in China is becoming more and more mature, and many consumers are eager to buy more advanced and luxurious cars and complete their self-transformation. In this era of BBA "flooding" the streets and lanes, for the face-saving people in China, Lexus's all-import status is very lethal, which is unmatched by other luxury brands with the same price.
Write at the end:
For Lexus, not worrying about sales at present does not mean that it will continue to be hot in the future, and various price increases in the terminal market have also laid the foundation for its subsequent healthy development. As the saying goes, "How high you lift, how painful you fall", Lexus has played a little bit in the China automobile market now, and its appetite is getting bigger and bigger, and it is becoming more and more enjoyable and insatiable. I'm afraid it will be embarrassing to spit it all out because of a momentary pleasure in the future.