Lexus expects huge European sales increase in 2024 due to LBX

It is no secret that Lexus is mainly aiming at Europe with the compact Lexus LBX. The car is in an area that has hardly been explored for premium brands and in the current car landscape it is actually only rivaled by the DS 3 and the Volvo EX30, with the latter only available as an EV and the Lexus not at all. In accordance with good Lexus custom, it is a hybrid, which shares its drivetrain with the Toyota Yaris Cross, which is approximately the same size.

AutoWeek is told that Lexus hopes to sell around 24,000 LBXs in Europe by 2024. With that number, the LBX would have a huge share of total Lexus sales on our continent, and would therefore logically cause a huge increase in those sales figures. The figures for 2023 are of course not yet complete, but in 2020 Lexus sold a total of 50,467 cars on our continent. Just add half, that is! Automotive News does note that 2022 was an exceptionally bad year for Lexus, as its Russian operations and sales stopped overnight due to the war. However, LBX sales could make up for that shortfall, so there is hope again for Lexus in Europe.

The fact that the Lexus LBX can single-handedly cause such a huge increase is of course also because the car is in a segment new to Lexus and is therefore not a direct replacement for an existing model. It will join the current and already very up-to-date SUV range in the range, and is also expected to attract many foreign-brand drivers. At the same time, the importer expects that a large number of existing CT200h drivers will make the switch. The CT has been no longer available for a while, but as the smallest Lexus to date, it is a kind of indirect predecessor of the LBX. In addition, the LBX should attract people who find a Toyota Yaris Cross not luxurious enough, but consider a Toyota C-HR too large.