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Case Study

Toyota Motor Corporation: Building the Lexus brand in Europe

By Kazuo Ichijo and Atul Pahwa

13 pages

June 2007

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Reference: IMD-5-0727

In 2006, for the seventh consecutive year, Lexus was the largest selling brand of luxury cars in the US. But in Europe, Lexus was nowhere as successful having registered sales of just over 20,000 cars annually by 2003. Management realized that it had to establish its own heritage, not just chase after the market leaders like Mercedes Benz, BMW, and Audi—and thereby conform to the European concept of luxury. A market survey indicated that just over 1 in 20 luxury car buyers in Europe perceived Lexus to be a luxury automotive brand. It was clear that the American success formula of comfort, size, and dependability would need to be augmented by the European requirements of focus on detail and brand heritage. The case discusses the various alternatives in front of Lexus and poses the challenge for the reader as to how to proceed and make the brand a success in Europe.

Learning Objective

To discuss innovation across product, service, and marketing segments while launching a new product in the marketplace.

Keywords

Automotive, Product Launch, Luxury Brand

Settings

Europe
Toyota
2006

Type

Published Sources

Available Languages

English

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