Mexican Media Brands
Lexus Takes Wait-and-See Approach to Subscriptions
Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus unit has no immediate plan to follow rival luxury marques in testing subscription services that offer motorists on-demand access to a variety of vehicles.
Share
Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus unit has no immediate plan to follow rival luxury marques in testing subscription services that offer motorists on-demand access to a variety of vehicles.
It isn’t clear how to make money and serve customer needs with such schemes, explains Cooper Ericksen, Lexus' vice president of marketing, to Automotive News. He adds that neither dealers nor Lexus owners are asking for subscription services.
But Lexus is evaluating an all-in-one payment plan. The brand’s Complete Lease pilot program is testing the idea in certain markets with its all-new UX compact crossover vehicle. The two-year lease combines vehicle payments with insurance, telematics services and some maintenance into a single monthly fee for the 2019 model, which bows this month.
Dealers will set their own rates for the program. Lexus says the UX (shorter for user experience) is well-suited for the lease because its young target market already uses subscription services for other products. The program may be expanded to other Lexus vehicles in the future.
BMW, Cadillac, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volvo are testing their own subscription plans with varying success. Cadillac and Lincoln are retooling their programs following weak customer demand for the pricey option.RELATED CONTENT
-
Choosing the Right Fasteners for Automotive
PennEngineering makes hundreds of different fasteners for the automotive industry with standard and custom products as well as automated assembly solutions. Discover how they’re used and how to select the right one. (Sponsored Content)
-
When Automated Production Turning is the Low-Cost Option
For the right parts, or families of parts, an automated CNC turning cell is simply the least expensive way to produce high-quality parts. Here’s why.
-
On Electric Pickups, Flying Taxis, and Auto Industry Transformation
Ford goes for vertical integration, DENSO and Honeywell take to the skies, how suppliers feel about their customers, how vehicle customers feel about shopping, and insights from a software exec
