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Lexus finds itself in a bit of a bind. With demand for crossovers growing, Lexus is doing a serious look at its product lineup and deciding what needs to be added and what needs to taken out. "We're more focused on maximizing the opportunities we have than comparing ourselves," said David Christ, the new general manager for Lexus to Automotive News. "Our product plan is what I would call a work in progress." The current focus for Lexus is the upcoming launches of the ES and the subcompact UX crossover. The ES is expected to keep current Lexus owners happy, but the new F-Sport package will hopefully bring in younger people - Lexus expects a quarter of ES sales to be the F-sport. The UX though is seen as what will bring the majority of young buyers to the brand. But this focus has Lexus doing "a strategic look" at two of their older models, the IS and GS. Both models are late into their lifecycles: IS was launched in 2013, while GS dates back to 2011. The two aren't big sellers either. In 2017, Lexus only moved 7,773 GS models and 26,482 IS models. Rumor has it that the GS could go away if the ES gets all-wheel drive. Christ wouldn't comment on that. "We can't do it all at once, but we're certainly evaluating both vehicles," said Christ. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article
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Lexus finds itself in a bit of a bind. With demand for crossovers growing, Lexus is doing a serious look at its product lineup and deciding what needs to be added and what needs to taken out. "We're more focused on maximizing the opportunities we have than comparing ourselves," said David Christ, the new general manager for Lexus to Automotive News. "Our product plan is what I would call a work in progress." The current focus for Lexus is the upcoming launches of the ES and the subcompact UX crossover. The ES is expected to keep current Lexus owners happy, but the new F-Sport package will hopefully bring in younger people - Lexus expects a quarter of ES sales to be the F-sport. The UX though is seen as what will bring the majority of young buyers to the brand. But this focus has Lexus doing "a strategic look" at two of their older models, the IS and GS. Both models are late into their lifecycles: IS was launched in 2013, while GS dates back to 2011. The two aren't big sellers either. In 2017, Lexus only moved 7,773 GS models and 26,482 IS models. Rumor has it that the GS could go away if the ES gets all-wheel drive. Christ wouldn't comment on that. "We can't do it all at once, but we're certainly evaluating both vehicles," said Christ. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) -
Most of Jaguar's lineup are either all new or recently been redesigned. The only exception is the flagship XJ sedan. While it has been refreshed, there hasn't been any indication from Jaguar about what will happen next. Judging from comments by their North American product manager, it seems the fate of the XJ is very uncertain. “We had a facelift with 2016, so it is approaching the end of its lifecycle,” Larsen said of the flagship XJ. “We’re looking at, you know, future opportunities of where that could possibly go,” said David Larsen to Motor1. When asked if there was a next-generation XJ in the pipeline, Larsen said, “I can’t confirm or deny” anything related to that. Sales of the XJ have been stagnant for the past few years. In 2016, Jaguar only moved 3,834 XJs. This put it ahead of the Genesis G90 (782) and Maserati Quattroporte (2,268), but way behind the Mercedes-Benz S-Class (18,803) and BMW 7-Series (12,918). Jaguar might have decided to let the XJ follow in the footsteps of the XK coupe of slowly drifting away, putting their efforts into other models such as the F-Pace and other upcoming crossovers. Source: Motor1 View full article
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Most of Jaguar's lineup are either all new or recently been redesigned. The only exception is the flagship XJ sedan. While it has been refreshed, there hasn't been any indication from Jaguar about what will happen next. Judging from comments by their North American product manager, it seems the fate of the XJ is very uncertain. “We had a facelift with 2016, so it is approaching the end of its lifecycle,” Larsen said of the flagship XJ. “We’re looking at, you know, future opportunities of where that could possibly go,” said David Larsen to Motor1. When asked if there was a next-generation XJ in the pipeline, Larsen said, “I can’t confirm or deny” anything related to that. Sales of the XJ have been stagnant for the past few years. In 2016, Jaguar only moved 3,834 XJs. This put it ahead of the Genesis G90 (782) and Maserati Quattroporte (2,268), but way behind the Mercedes-Benz S-Class (18,803) and BMW 7-Series (12,918). Jaguar might have decided to let the XJ follow in the footsteps of the XK coupe of slowly drifting away, putting their efforts into other models such as the F-Pace and other upcoming crossovers. Source: Motor1 -
Volkswagen's dealers find themselves wondering what's next and if the diesel scandal would end. Dealers seemed hopeful when the initial fallout came as Volkswagen seemed to understand what could happen. The German automaker offered emergency aid to its dealers which earned Volkswagen of America's CEO Michael Horn a standing ovation at Volkswagen's national meeting. But three months on and a scandal that seems to go in a new direction every day, dealers are becoming worried and frustrated. "This thing isn't getting better with time. We don't have a fix. We don't have a timeline," said Alan Brown, chairman of VW's dealer council. The unknown, he added, is "what makes the anxiety of this even worse." Part of worrying feelings that dealers are the confusing signals coming out at Volkswagen. The internal probe hasn't revealed any details about who was involved or how it began. Not helping is the constant changes in Volkswagen's executives. Meanwhile in the U.S., Volkswagen is currently waiting on the EPA and CARB to approve their fix for the 2.0L TDI engine. Not helping is the uncertainty in the values of affected Volkswagen diesel models. Competing brands won't accept used TDIs on trade, and Volkswagen dealers feel pressure to take in TDI models at lower prices to reflect there more than 15 percent drop in price at auctions. Customers who are trying to trade in their TDIs are seeing offers that leave them discouraged. Volkswagen's offer to buy up used TDIs sitting on dealers lot turned out to be a one-time program that ended on October 22nd. Also giving Volkswagen dealers a bit of a headache is the low inventories of gas vehicles. Steve Kalafer, owner of a Volkswagen dealer in New Jersey says he has fewer than 50 saleable Volkswagens in stock, causing him to say his sales prospects in December are bleak. "We would be hopeful that Volkswagen would ship these cars on overtime," Kalafer said, but during the holiday season, "the auto business from the manufacturer side basically shuts down." There is also the question of incentives. One of the reasons for Volkswagen's 25 percent drop in sales in November was the decrease in incentives. In October, VW offered $2,000 for returning owners. In November, that amount was reduced to $1,000 to $1,500 dependent on the model. Brown says Horn should be demanding money from Volkswagen to offer the best new car deals in the industry to keep and attract customers. "We cannot be arrogant and higher priced," said Brown. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article -
As the Diesel Emits: Volkswagen's Dealers Become More Frustrated
William Maley posted an article in Volkswagen
Volkswagen's dealers find themselves wondering what's next and if the diesel scandal would end. Dealers seemed hopeful when the initial fallout came as Volkswagen seemed to understand what could happen. The German automaker offered emergency aid to its dealers which earned Volkswagen of America's CEO Michael Horn a standing ovation at Volkswagen's national meeting. But three months on and a scandal that seems to go in a new direction every day, dealers are becoming worried and frustrated. "This thing isn't getting better with time. We don't have a fix. We don't have a timeline," said Alan Brown, chairman of VW's dealer council. The unknown, he added, is "what makes the anxiety of this even worse." Part of worrying feelings that dealers are the confusing signals coming out at Volkswagen. The internal probe hasn't revealed any details about who was involved or how it began. Not helping is the constant changes in Volkswagen's executives. Meanwhile in the U.S., Volkswagen is currently waiting on the EPA and CARB to approve their fix for the 2.0L TDI engine. Not helping is the uncertainty in the values of affected Volkswagen diesel models. Competing brands won't accept used TDIs on trade, and Volkswagen dealers feel pressure to take in TDI models at lower prices to reflect there more than 15 percent drop in price at auctions. Customers who are trying to trade in their TDIs are seeing offers that leave them discouraged. Volkswagen's offer to buy up used TDIs sitting on dealers lot turned out to be a one-time program that ended on October 22nd. Also giving Volkswagen dealers a bit of a headache is the low inventories of gas vehicles. Steve Kalafer, owner of a Volkswagen dealer in New Jersey says he has fewer than 50 saleable Volkswagens in stock, causing him to say his sales prospects in December are bleak. "We would be hopeful that Volkswagen would ship these cars on overtime," Kalafer said, but during the holiday season, "the auto business from the manufacturer side basically shuts down." There is also the question of incentives. One of the reasons for Volkswagen's 25 percent drop in sales in November was the decrease in incentives. In October, VW offered $2,000 for returning owners. In November, that amount was reduced to $1,000 to $1,500 dependent on the model. Brown says Horn should be demanding money from Volkswagen to offer the best new car deals in the industry to keep and attract customers. "We cannot be arrogant and higher priced," said Brown. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)
