Lexus sees ‘tough year’ after chip crisis, Russia exit

Lexus is grappling with a backlog of orders in Europe after Toyota’s premium brand was hit particularly hard by chip shortages, forcing it to suspend sales of some versions of its newly launched midsize NX SUV. is.

“There is no denying that 2022 has been a very tough year for Lexus,” said Matt Harrison, president and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe, at the automaker’s Kenshiki media event in Brussels at the end of November.

Lexus sales in Europe fell 28% to 27,247 units in the first nine months of 2022, according to figures from market research firm Dataforce. The brand’s best-selling UX Compact SUV saw the biggest drop, down 36% to 10,053 units.

Lexus sales in Europe are also affected by Toyota’s withdrawal from the Russian market. “His 25% of Lexus sales were in Russia,” says Harrison. “It’s not even a small model. Mainly RX [large SUV]NX and even LX [luxury sedan]The impact on profits is more important than the impact on sales. ”

Lexus wanted a boost in Europe from the newly launched NX model. The NX model adds a plug-in hybrid for the first time to the brand’s range, allowing access to the tax incentives offered to fleet customers.

However, NX production in Japan has slowed due to chip shortages, leaving the brand with a backlog of orders.

“We have experienced significant production cuts for our major models, including the NX, which is central to our growth targets this year,” Harrison said. I have.”