Lexus Hybrid Marketing Campaign Launches Amid Big Drop in Lexus Hybrid Sales
By Scott Doggett March 9, 2010
Lexus is launching a new marketing campaign across the U.S. that will span its current hybrid line-up: the RX 450h SUV, GS 450h sports sedan, LS 600h premium luxury sedan and HS 250h entry-level luxury sedan.
The recently-announced Lexus CT 200h, not yet on the market, will not be included in the campaign, which will include numerous print ads as well as the television commercial "Milestones" that kicked off several days ago and highlights a series of advancements and changes that the world has seen since the first Lexus Hybrid launched.
And what would those milestones be? "Milestones" says than when Lexus built its first hybrid, YouTube didn't exist, more people had land lines than cell phones, and gas was $1.75 a gallon.
The commercial adds, with only a hint of smugness, that "while other luxury carmakers are building their first hybrids, Lexus hybrids have traveled 5.5 billion miles. And that's quite a head start."
Toyota's luxury division launched its first hybrid in 2004. There are now more than 190,000 Lexus hybrids on the road.
"We are very proud of our leadership in luxury hybrids and have created a campaign that lets consumers know that at Lexus, hybrids aren't just a concept for a future car, but vehicles that have been on the road for five years," said Dave Nordstrom, vice president of marketing for Lexus.
Nordstrom must be less proud of how his hybrids are selling: February sales of the RX 450h - Lexus' top-selling hybrid - were down 12.4 percent from January and off 40.7 percent from February 2009; February sales of the GS 450h were down 46.3 percent from January and unchanged from February 2009; February sales of the new HS 250h were down 42.9 percent from January (there are no February 2009 sales to compare it with).
The only plus sign in the Lexus hybrid line-up was for the long-wheelbase, extremely low volume $103,000 LS 600h L, whose 15 sales in February represented a 66.6 percent increase from 9 sales in January, but a 31.8 percent decline from 22 sales in February 2009.
Total Lexus February 2010 hybrid sales were 1,636, down from 2,313 in January but up from 1,507 from February 2009, when the HS 250h (with 712 in February 2010 sales) wasn't in the mix to add to volume.
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