2010s: Recent developments

In the early 2010s, Lexus underwent a gradual sales recovery in North America and Asia as the marque focused on adding hybrids and new model derivatives. Sales in the U.S. for the first half of 2010 held steady during the 2009–2010 Toyota vehicle recalls, several of which included Lexus models. The ES 350 and certain IS models were affected by a recall for potentially jamming floor mats; the New York Times found more federal acceleration reports per-vehicle for the marque versus parent company Toyota, while NPR determined the reports to be generally rare, with comparable rates at multiple makes. The redesigned GX 460 was also voluntarily recalled in April 2010 for a software update, one week after Consumer Reports issued a recommendation not to buy the SUV following the slow stability control response to a high-speed emergency turn. Although it knew of no reported incidents, the U.S. publication warned of a possible rollover risk, and the GX 460 received updated stability control software. At the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, Lexus introduced the CT 200h, a compact four-door hybrid hatchback initially designed for the European market. The CT 200h was scheduled to go on sale in Europe in the latter half of 2010, with exports to follow in the U.S. and other regions worldwide.

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2000s: Hybrids and F models

In 2000, Lexus introduced a new entry-level sedan, the IS 300. In 2001, the marque debuted its first convertible, the SC 430, and the third generation LS 430. The GX 470 mid-size SUV debuted in 2002, followed by the second generation RX 330 in 2003. In 2004, Lexus recorded its two-millionth U.S. vehicle sale. The following year, Lexus debuted the first production hybrid luxury SUV, the RX 400h. The vehicle used a Lexus Hybrid Drive system which combined gasoline and electric motors for increased power, fuel efficiency, and lower emissions relative to gasoline-only equivalents.

In 2005, Lexus completed a full organizational separation from parent company Toyota, with dedicated design, engineering, training, and manufacturing centers working exclusively for the division. This effort coincided with Lexus' launch in its home market of Japan and an expanded global launch of the brand in major world markets. Executives aimed to grow the marque's sales outside of its largest market in the U.S. The next generation IS, GS, and LS sedans were subsequently designed as "global models" for worldwide markets. In 2006, Lexus unveiled the GS 450h, a V6 hybrid performance sedan, along with the fourth generation flagship LS line, comprising both standard- and long-wheelbase V8 (LS 460 and LS 460 L) and hybrid (LS 600h and LS 600h L) versions. The LS 600h L subsequently went on sale as the most expensive luxury sedan ever produced in Japan, with a sticker price of approximately US$125,000. In 2006, Lexus sales reached 475,000 vehicles worldwide.

In 2007, Lexus announced a new F marque performance division, which would produce racing-inspired versions of its performance models. The first of this line, the IS F, made its debut at the 2007 North American International Auto Show, accompanied by a supercar concept, the LF-A. By the end of 2007, Lexus' annual U.S. sales had risen to 329,177 vehicles, and total worldwide sales reached 500,000 vehicles. In 2008, amidst the late-2000s recession, U.S. sales dropped 21% to 260,087, and global sales fell 16% to 435,000, affected by a weakened global luxury car market. In mid-2009, the marque launched the HS 250h, a dedicated hybrid sedan for North America and Japan, the RX 450h, the second generation hybrid SUV replacing the earlier RX 400h, and later that year debuted the US$375,000 production LFA supercar. In terms of volume, Lexus was the number-one-selling luxury car marque in the historically largest automotive market for the past decade, and ranked as the fourth-largest luxury car brand in the world by volume.

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1990s: Growth and expansion

In 1990, during its first full year of sales, Lexus sold 63,594 LS 400 and ES 250 sedans in the U.S., the vast majority being the LS model. That year, Lexus also began limited exports to the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada, and Australia.In 1991, Lexus launched its first sports coupe, the SC 400, which shared the LS 400’s V8 engine and rear-wheel drive design. This was followed by the second generation ES 300 sedan, which succeeded the ES 250 and became Lexus' top seller. At the conclusion of 1991, Lexus had become the top-selling luxury import in the U.S., with sales reaching a total of 71,206 vehicles. That year, Lexus ranked highest in J.D. Power and Associates' studies on initial vehicle quality, customer satisfaction, and sales satisfaction for the first time. The marque also began increasing U.S. model prices past those of comparable American luxury makes, but still below high-end European models; by 1992, the LS 400's base price had risen 18% to nearly US$45,000.

In 1993, Lexus launched the GS line, based on the Toyota Aristo, which had sold for two years prior in Japan. The GS 300 sports sedan was priced below the LS 400 in the marque's lineup. That same year, Lexus also became one of the first marques to debut a certified pre-owned program, with the aim of improving trade-in model values. In 1994, the marque introduced the second generation LS 400, a complete redesign of its flagship model. In May 1995, sales were threatened by the U.S. government's proposal of 100% tariffs on Japanese luxury cars in response to the widening U.S.-Japan trade deficit. SUVs were exempt from the proposed sanctions. Normal sales operations resumed by late 1995 when the Japanese auto manufacturers collectively agreed to greater American investments, and the tariffs were not enacted.

In 1996, Lexus debuted its first luxury sport utility vehicle, the LX 450. The marque's plans for developing an SUV model had accelerated during the U.S.-Japan tariff discussions of 1995. In 1998, Lexus added the first luxury crossover SUV, the RX 300, and the second generation GS 300 and GS 400 sedans. The RX crossover targeted suburban buyers who desired a luxury SUV but did not need the LX's off-road capability, and was particularly successful. By year's end, the RX 300 had become the marque's top-selling model, ahead of the ES 300. In 1999, Lexus recorded its one-millionth vehicle sold in the U.S. market, and was ranked the top-selling luxury automobile make in the U.S. overall.

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1980s: The F1 project

In 1983, Toyota chairman Eiji Toyoda summoned a secret meeting of company executives, to whom he posed the question, “Can we create a luxury vehicle to challenge the world's best?” This question prompted Toyota to embark on a top-secret project, code-named F1 (“Flagship” + “No. 1 vehicle”). The F1 project, whose finished product was ultimately the Lexus LS 400, aimed to develop a luxury car that would expand Toyota’s product line, giving it a foothold in the premium segment and offering both longtime and new customers an upmarket product. The F1 project followed the success of the Toyota Supra sports car and the luxury Toyota Cressida models. Both the Supra and Cressida were rear-wheel drive cars with a powerful 7M-GE/7M-GTE engine. The opportunity for Japanese manufacturers to export more expensive models had arisen with the 1980s voluntary export restraints, negotiated by the Japanese government and U.S. trade representatives, restricting mainstream car sales. In 1986, Honda launched its Acura marque in the U.S., influencing Toyota's plans for a luxury division. Around the same time, Nissan would unveil plans to create its own luxury division, Infiniti, while Mazda also considered developing a luxury division, to be called Amati.

Toyota researchers visited the U.S. in May 1985 to conduct focus groups and market research on luxury consumers. That summer, several F1 designers rented a home in Laguna Beach, California to observe the lifestyles and tastes of American upper-class consumers. Toyota’s market research concluded that a separate brand and sales channel were needed to present its new luxury flagship, and plans were made to develop a new network of dealerships in the U.S. market.

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Lexus

Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. First introduced in 1989 in the United States, Lexus is now sold globally and has become Japan's largest-selling make of luxury cars. As of 2009, Lexus vehicles are officially marketed in over 70 countries and territories worldwide. The Lexus marque has ranked among the top ten Japanese global brands in market value. The division's world headquarters are located in Toyota, Aichi, Japan, with operational centers in Brussels, Belgium, and Torrance, California, United States.

Lexus originated from a clandestine flagship sedan project that began in 1983. This effort developed into the original Lexus LS, which was the first vehicle to wear the Lexus marque upon its launch in 1989. In following years, Lexus added sedan, coupé,convertible, and SUV models. In 2005, a hybrid version of the RX crossover debuted, and additional hybrid models were subsequently introduced to the Lexus lineup. In 2007, Lexus launched its F marque performance division with the arrival of the IS Fsport sedan.

From the start of production, Lexus vehicles have been consistently produced in Japan, with manufacturing centered in the Chūbu and Kyūshū regions, and in particular at Toyota's Tahara, Aichi, Chūbu and Miyata, Fukuoka, Kyūshū plants. Assembly of the first Lexus built outside the country, the Ontario, Canada-produced RX 330, began in 2003. Following a corporate reorganization from 2001 to 2005, Lexus operates its own design, engineering, and manufacturing centers, solely responsible for the division's vehicles.

Since the 2000s, Lexus has increased sales outside its largest market in the United States through an ongoing global expansion. The division inaugurated dealerships in Japan's domestic market in 2005, becoming the first Japanese luxury car marque to launch in its country of origin. Further debuts in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and other export regions have since followed. The division's lineup has also been expanded to reflect regional specifications in model and powertrain configurations.

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1998–present

The financial crisis that gripped Asia in July of that year set the stage for another ownership change. The new chairman of Volkswagen AG, Ferdinand Piëch, grandson of Volkswagen's founder, Ferdinand Porsche, went on a buying spree through 1998, which included the acquisition of Lamborghini for around $110 million. Lamborghini was purchased through Volkswagen's luxury car division, AUDI AG. Audi spokesman Juergen de Graeve told the Wall Street Journal that Lamborghini "could strengthen Audi's sporty profile, and on the other hand Lamborghini could benefit from our technical expertise."

Only five years after leaving American ownership, Lamborghini was now under German control. Yet again, the troubled Italian automaker was reorganized, becoming restructured into a holding company, Lamborghini Holding S.p.A., with Audi presidentFranz-Josef Paefgen as its chairman. Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. became a subsidiary of the holding company, allowing it to focus specifically on designing and building cars while separate interests took care of the company's licensing deals and marine engine manufacturing. Vittorio Di Capua originally remained in charge, but eventually resigned in June 1999. He was replaced by Giuseppe Greco, another industry veteran with experience at Fiat, Alfa Romeo, and Ferrari. The Diablo's final evolution, the GT, was released, but not exported to the U.S., its low-volume production making it uneconomical to go through the process of gaining emissions and crashworthiness approval.

In much the same way that American ownership had influenced the design of the Diablo, Lamborghini's new German parent played a large role in the creation of the Diablo's replacement. The first new Lamborghini in more than a decade, known internally as Project L140, represented the rebirth of Lamborghini, and was named, fittingly, for the bull that originally sired the Miura line that had inspired Ferruccio Lamborghini almost 40 years before: Murciélago. The new flagship car was styled by Belgian Luc Donckerwolke, Lamborghini's new head of design.

Under German ownership, Lamborghini found stability that it had not seen in many years. In 2003, Lamborghini followed up the Murciélago with the smaller, V10-equipped Gallardo, intended to be a more accessible and more livable than the Murciélago. In 2007, Wolfgang Egger was appointed as the new head of design of Audi and Lamborghini, replacing Walter de'Silva, who was responsible for the design of only one car during his appointment, the Miura Concept of 2006.

2008 saw the release of the Murciélago-derived, stealth fighter-inspired Reventón, an extremely limited-edition supercar that carried the distinction of being the most powerful and expensive Lamborghini ever sold. The most recent models released are the 2009 Murciélago LP 670-4 SV, a SuperVeloce version of Lamborghini's halo supercar, and the 2009 Reventón Roadster. The automaker has recently seen sales begin to decrease from a high of 2,580 units in 2007; the slide in sales, attributed to the effects of the world financial crisis, led CEO Stephan Winkelmann to predict poor sales for supercars through 2011. In 2010, the automaker produced the 4,000th Murciélago, an LP 670-4 SV, destined for delivery in China. At the time, the growing Asia-Pacific vehicle market represented 25 percent of Lamborghini's sales.

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1994–1997

Chrysler began looking for someone to take Lamborghini off its hands, and found it in a holding company called MegaTech. The company was registered in Bermuda and wholly owned by Indonesian conglomerate SEDTCO Pty., headed by businessmen Setiawan Djody and Tommy Suharto, the youngest son of then-Indonesian President Suharto. By February 1994, after $40 million had changed hands, Lamborghini had left Italian ownership, and MegaTech took over the automaker, its Modena racing engine factory, and the American dealer interest, Lamborghini USA. Djody, who also owned a 35% stake in troubled American supercar manufacturer Vector Motors, thought Vector and Lamborghini might be able to collaborate to improve their output. Michael J. Kimberly, formerly of Lotus, Jaguar and executive vice-president General Motors, was appointed president and managing director. After reviewing the entire Lamborghini operation, Kimberly concluded that the company needed to expand its offerings from more than just one or two models, and provide a car accessible to American car enthusiasts. He implemented a marketing strategy to raise awareness of Lamborghini's heritage and mystique. In 1995, Lamborghini produced a hit, when the Diablo was updated to the top-end SuperVeloce model. But in 1995, even as sales were climbing, the company was restructured, with Tommy Suharto's V'Power Corporation holding a 60% interest, MyCom Bhd., a Malaysian company controlled by Jeff Yap, holding the other 40%.

Never leaving the red despite its increase in sales, in November 1996 Lamborghini hired Vittorio di Capua as President and CEO, hoping that the veteran of more than 40 years at auto giant Fiat S.p.A. could finally make the sports car maker profitable again. Di Capua immediately launched cost-cutting measures, letting go of a number of company executives and consultants, and overhauling production in order to achieve a 50 percent gain in productivity. In 1997, Lamborghini finally passed its break-even point, selling 209 Diablos, thirteen more than it needed to be profitable. Di Capua also leveraged the Lamborghini name and identity, implementing aggressive merchandising and licensing deals. Development of the "baby Lambo" finally began, moving forward with a $100 million budget.

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