Lexus Maintains Strong First Quarter Sales Ahead of Showrooms Re-opening
Lexus maintained healthy new car sales through the first quarter of 2021, despite the necessary closure of all UK showrooms to comply with Covid-19 restrictions. Applying its industry-leading customer service principles, it ensured people were given all the information, personal support and services they required to research and organise new car purchases.
While customers are now able to visit their local centres in person, Lexus’s Reserve and Relax programme remains available. This initiative has proved highly successful in providing a simple and thorough online process for car sales, including video appointments with sales specialists, the drawing up of finance agreements and the organisation of refundable deposits to secure vehicles.
Lexus sold almost 3,400 new cars (3,393 units) in the first three months of 2021, earning a 2.3 per cent share of the UK’s premium market – 2.9 per cent for sales to retail customers. Notably performance in March – one of the busiest months in the year with the introduction of a new registration plate – was only marginally down on 2020 (-0.5 per cent). The brand’s retail share for the month was one of the best it has recorded, at 3.2 per cent.
Ewan Shepherd, Director of Lexus in the UK, said: “The performance delivered by our retail partners has been outstanding, given that showrooms have been closed throughout the first quarter. The challenges we and the entire UK motor industry faced were unprecedented, but the Lexus teams across the country responded brilliantly, embracing new ways of working and initiatives to ensure we could continue to offer customers the best possible service.
“The confidence of our retailers in our brand and our future prospects has been re-emphasised with Lexus recently retaining its top ranking in the most recent National Franchised Dealers Association survey. At the same time, we have continued to collect awards for our products and our services. All these factors give us great confidence for the months ahead, together with an exceptional range of vehicles – not least the pure electric UX 300e, the pioneer of a new generation of Lexus Electrified models.”
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