Lexus cars are out of favor in Vietnam.

Despite price reductions of hundreds of millions of dong, the ultra-luxury Lexus brand remains unpopular in Vietnam, selling only 48 units in February.

Following the Lunar New Year holiday, the domestic car market experienced a slump, with total sales reaching 17,621 units, a 13% decrease compared to January.

While other automakers struggled to cope with declining sales using various tactics such as promotional offers or discounts, only the Japanese automaker Toyota maintained impressive sales figures.

Specifically, in February, Toyota sold a total of 3,577 vehicles. In the top 10 best-selling models of February, Toyota held the top three positions with the Vios, Innova, and Fortuner.

Toyota Lexus is falling out of favor in the Vietnamese market.

However, according to Toyota's announcement, this figure does not include Lexus models.

According to sales reports from the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA), Toyota Lexus sold only 48 units in February. This number has been steadily declining over the months.

According to a survey conducted by reporters, at Toyota dealerships in Hanoi, Lexus vehicles are consistently sitting idle due to prolonged sluggish sales. Many dealerships admit that Lexus sales are very low and overshadowed by other mid-range and budget-friendly models.

According to many dealerships, the main reason for the sluggish sales of the high-end Toyota Lexus line is its excessively high price. Specifically, the cheapest Lexus model costs around 2.5 billion VND. The more expensive version, the 2017 Lexus LX 570 AT AWD, costs up to 8.5 billion VND.

Despite still being affected by changes in tax policy for large-engine vehicles effective from July 2016, Toyota Vietnam has taken steps to reduce the price of this model by up to hundreds of millions of VND to stimulate demand. However, the amount reduced is insignificant compared to the exorbitant price of Lexus.

Meanwhile, in the premium segment at the same price point as Lexus, its rival Mercedes-Benz is dominating. In February, Mercedes-Benz sold 400 units, eight times more than Lexus sold. Total sales for Mercedes-Benz since the beginning of 2017 are five times higher than Lexus's.

Dealers believe that the reason Toyota's Lexus line is being "crushed" by its Mercedes-Benz competitor is due to design and brand recognition. In the premium segment, Mercedes-Benz boasts a far more luxurious and sophisticated design compared to Lexus.

Another reason lies in the brand. Mercedes has long been positioned as a supercar brand in Vietnam. Meanwhile, Toyota dominates almost every segment except the luxury car segment.

According to dealerships' predictions, it is inevitable that Lexus will continue to be out of favor for a considerable period of time to come.

According to VNN