{"id":247627,"date":"2023-12-06T17:50:17","date_gmt":"2023-12-06T17:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automotobuzz.com\/?p=247627"},"modified":"2023-12-06T17:50:17","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T17:50:17","slug":"lexus-has-taken-a-long-and-tough-road-to-become-an-elite-premium-car-brand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automotobuzz.com\/car-reviews\/lexus-has-taken-a-long-and-tough-road-to-become-an-elite-premium-car-brand\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Lexus has taken a long and tough road to become an elite premium car brand\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Editor-in-chief Steve Fowler thinks a lot of brands could learn from Lexus as they try to crack the premium end of the market<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/media.autoexpress.co.uk\/image\/private\/s--_UdHR4Wb--\/f_auto,t_author-mobile@1\/v1570211896\/autoexpress\/dsc_9533.jpg\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/media.autoexpress.co.uk\/image\/private\/s--2DpI3X24--\/f_auto,t_primary-image-mobile@1\/v1701880983\/autoexpress\/2023\/12\/Opinion%20-%20Lexus.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>Amid the e-mails and letters I get from readers, the cost of new cars is a recurring theme. They \u2013 like so many other things \u2013 are getting more and more expensive.<\/p>\n<p>As much as all costs have risen in recent years, cars now come with more and more kit as standard \u2013 some demanded by consumers, some by legislators \u2013 and then there\u2019s the added cost of electrification.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/media.autoexpress.co.uk\/image\/private\/s--wh1GzPZd--\/f_auto,t_related-embed-mobile@1\/v1698234816\/autoexpress\/2023\/10\/Lexus%20LF-ZC%20001_lktlaz.jpg\">Lexus LF-ZC concept to rival Tesla Model 3 in 2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There\u2019s also the march of mainstream brands and newcomers towards the premium end of the market, where the margins (and profits) are much greater.<\/p>\n<p>Becoming premium is not the work of a moment, though. Plenty of brands have tried and failed, while others continue the struggle. Infiniti is one that has been and gone, while Genesis is rapidly heading towards a plan B in the UK because plan A clearly hasn\u2019t worked.<\/p>\n<p>Lexus is a fine example of playing the long game, though. From its origins in the corner of Toyota dealers back in the nineties to a real premium player today, it\u2019s been a long, tough road to be considered among the established elite car brands of the world.<\/p>\n<p>I spent some time recently with Pascal Ruch, boss of Lexus in Europe, as his brand is pushing for sizeable expansion in the UK and across Europe. At one end of the scale, the firm has striking concepts like the LF-ZC, which Ruch showed me around and explained how its battery tech (with 600 miles of range), DIRECT4 all-wheel drive system, steer-by-wire and innovative structure will be key to Lexus\u2019s differentiation in the second half of this decade \u2013 just a few years from now.<\/p>\n<p>At the other end is the crucial LBX small SUV that\u2019s set to boost Lexus sales, but provide a big challenge for what has been the brand\u2019s biggest selling point \u2013 its customer service. Ruch is aware of the challenge that growth poses to a network that\u2019s already slipped from the lofty position it made its own at the top of our annual Driver Power satisfaction survey. But it\u2019s a position he wants back.<\/p>\n<p>I like the Lexus difference. It\u2019s a brand that\u2019s never wanted to be BMW (unlike others), taking a different path to premium. And it\u2019s all the better for it.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Do you agree with Steve? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section&#8230;<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autoexpress.co.uk\/lexus\/361712\/lexus-has-taken-long-and-tough-road-become-elite-premium-car-brand\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Editor-in-chief Steve Fowler thinks a lot of brands could learn from Lexus as they try to crack the premium end<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":247626,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\u2018Lexus has taken a long and tough road to become an elite premium car brand\u2019 - AutoMotoBuzz.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automotobuzz.com\/car-reviews\/lexus-has-taken-a-long-and-tough-road-to-become-an-elite-premium-car-brand\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Lexus has taken a long and tough road to become an elite premium car brand\u2019 - 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