[mojo]

As of now Lexus has a downright dismal presence in Europe. There is tough headway to make against the loved European luxury brands, quite similar to the battle Cadillac is facing. Anyways, Lexus International VP Mark Templin sat down with Lexus UK Blog and quipped some notable quotes...

“The company has put a lot of resources into Lexus. Finally we are doing the things I wish we had done ten years ago,” he says with a smile.

Templin, a straight- and fast-talking American, should know. He’s worked at Lexus for 25 years and watched the growing pains of a company that at times in its past has lacked decisive direction.

“Our goal is not to grow really fast, but to grow in a slow, methodical and steady way over a long, long period of time,” he says.

We were building cars that were successful in the US, Russia, Mid-East and Japan. Those are enormous markets. But we never had the right product mix to meet European demands, until recently,” says Templin.

Templin is masterminding the global development of Lexus, and one of his jobs is to boost sales in Europe and the Middle East to catch up with the US.

“We have a great position in the US and now is the time to develop our new models and range of cars for a global audience,” he says.

I believe Lexus real competitive advantage in Europe is going to come from fuel economy and hybrid tech. Fuel econ has always been at the forefront for the other luxury makers however, they have only recently turned to hybrid technology while Lexus has a fully vested hybrid offering that has slowly but surely been refined since the early days of the prius...

 

[toyotafan]

ye

considering how well Lexus does in NA

They really need to spend some time in Europe to get the ball rolling

 

[Kennedy]

Europe along with other nations, im sure there are many that demand vehicles like this, plus Lexus has the money. They just need to expand

 

[mister]

I'm not sure that the Lexus styling will play very well to a European audience, but the fact that Lexus offers hybrids where others don't is a big plus. I would think that Lexus' vehicles design would do well in the Middle east. Is Lexus active there right now and not popular, or have they not even tried to enter that market yet?

 

[Kennedy]

i see a bit of euro inspiration in Lexus's new design language which leads me to believe europeans might learn to love it as something different from what they're used to.

 

[toyotafan]

I feel like Lexus would have to offer a cheap everymans car to sell well in Europe

Their luxury cars dont get very far in Europe.

 

[Kennedy]

That might be true, maybe they will have to alter their trims more for Europe to better their chances