European sales of Lexus have been heavily affected since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Last year, the Japanese carmaker sold a total of 72,441 cars across Europe. 19,638 of them were sold in Russia and 1,881 in Ukraine. However, since invading Ukraine, Lexus has stopped importing cars to Russia.
From the beginning of the year to April, only 1,738 new Lexus cars were sold in Russia. This is a decrease of 76% compared to last year.
Also read: Lexus Electrified Sports Concept Makes Euro Debut at Goodwood Speed Festival
talk to Automatic newsLexus Europe chief Spyros Fortunos has confirmed that cars sold in Russia this year were imported before sanctions were imposed.
“We stopped supply when the sanctions came into force, so the products that have been in Russia for a long time are reliable sales this year,” he said.
The automaker expects to sell about 50,000 vehicles across Europe this year due to declining sales in Russia and Ukraine. Fortinos is confident that the new Lexus RX will help boost sales when it launches in Europe later this year. About 87% of Lexus sales in Europe are for SUVs, and the brand’s range will be further strengthened with the arrival of a fully electric RZ next year.
Although Lexus is experiencing sales in Europe, its parent company Toyota recently built 3,474,706 vehicles in the first four months of the year, ready to sell 10.4 million vehicles this year.
