Sekarang? Lexus adalah merk import dengan penjualan no.1 di Korea Selatan, melampaui BMW yang tadinya no.1 :Industry experts project that sales of Lexus cars in 2005 will be found to have surpassed those of BWM, as Lexus pushed its year-end sales by offering discounts, such as paying registration fees for car buyers. Its popular ES330 model is currently offered for about 1 million won ($990) less than its normal sticker price.
Toyota, which markets only its Lexus brand here, became Korea's second-highest seller of import cars only two years after entering the market. Experts said the Japanese brand successfully attracted wealthy professionals and women in Gangnam, a posh neighborhood in southern Seoul.
"The mid-size sedan ES330 has recorded the largest sales for imported cars for the past three years in a row here," said a Toyota spokesman. "Its success in the Korean market is garnering attention from our headquarters in Japan, even though North America has been our strongest sales spot."
Source: inadaily.com
Apalagi mulai tahun ini Lexus akan mengganti semua lineupnya menjadi generasi baru yang berbeda dengan versi2 Toyota-nya.Lexus sold 5,840 cars here in 2005 while BMW sold 5,786 units, the importers' association said yesterday.
Mercedes-Benz came third in the annual sales with 4,012 units, followed by Honda (2,709 units), Audi (2,698 units) and Chrysler (2,158 units). Volkswagen (1,635 units), Ford (1,353 units) and Volvo (1,260 units) followed.
The Lexus ES330 sedan was the year's bestselling model with 2,368 units sold, followed by the Honda CR-V sport-utility vehicle (1,288 units) and the BMW 320 sedan (1,249 units).
Source: The Korea Herald
Sadly, dari 3 pabrikan terbesar Jepang, hanya Nissan yang tidak masuk top 9. Lexus no. 1 dan Honda di no. 4.
Pasar Korea Selatan juga memberikan gambaran global : bahwa BMW sudah mulai melampaui Mercedes, dan Audi sedang maju pesat.
Ini karena Mercedes pernah bermain2 dengan kualitas, sedangkan BMW apalagi Audi menganggap haram untuk mengurangi kualitas sedikitpun. Walaupun kini Mercedes tampaknya sudah menyadari kesalahan mereka, tapi laju BMW dan Audi sudah tidak terbendung lagi. Di pasar China, Audi adalah pemain terbesar di segmen premium.