Lexus Raises Prices for 2010 Models

Lexus has seen some hard times lately - and indeed all of Toyota. The "unstoppable" Toyota has in fact been stopped as the recession has hit everyone. Like other luxury brands, Lexus has seen volume levels decline. With Lexus though the decrease has been far more pronounced, enabling other brands to gain market share.

Year to date, BMW has outsold Lexus as the top brand in the United States. It appears that trend will carry through to the end of the year, and Lexus will lose the title it has held since 2000.

So, what is a brand to do? Why raise prices of course! That's a sure fire way to increase sales! Seriously though, it appears Lexus is trying to increase margins across the lineup. The increases extend pretty broadly: the entire IS lineup, from the IS 250 and 350 sedans to the recently introduced IS 250 and 350 convertible as well as the IS F performance model. The brand's bread and butter vehicle, the RX also sees increases in 350 and 450 guises, and to top it off the aging SC 430 convertible and LX 570 SUV gets one as well.

For 2010 there has been the usual detail changes (new wheels, colors, etc) but also the company's Safety Connect telematics system has been made standard on models not equipped with a navigation system. For those with a navigation, Lexus ups the ante, offering Enform with Safety Connect standard instead. Whew, glad that was over with. I'll show you a picture of an IS -F police car now - just to spice things up.