Lexus starts accepting bookings in India - Report
To commence deliveries in India from March 2017.
Lexus, the luxury car division of Toyota, has begun accepting bookings for its products in India reports Autocar.
With three models, Lexus will reportedly mark its foray into the Indian market with its first dealership in Mumbai. The brand is at present said to be busy setting up a dealer network in other cities as well. The Mumbai dealership is claimed to be sprouting at Taj Santacruz hotel, near the domestic airport.
The initial models will include the ES300h, RX450h and LX450d. The latter two are SUVs and the RX450h has been spotted in India while it was out at customer demos. The ES300h will be the entry level model but despite being a hybrid it will not be benefiting from the FAME scheme of the government.
Tentative ex-showroom prices for the Lexus range in India:
- Lexus RX450h: INR 1.17 crore
- Lexus LX450d: INR 2 crore
- Lexus LX570d: INR 2.15 crore
- Lexus ES300h: INR 75 lakh
The Lexus range will be priced at a premium and Toyota will be attempting to take full advantage of its brand value. The car maker’s image in India, despite not being officially on sale, is comparable to every other other luxury brand in the country.
The Mumbai dealership will be followed by Delhi, Gurugram and Bengaluru. The second phase of dealerships will include Chandigarh, Cochin and Chennai in the second half of 2017, adds Autocar India.
All three models will come via the CBU route, but the company is mulling local assembly, with the ES likely to be done first.
[Source: AutocarIndia]
