Lexus is one mainstream luxury manufacturer that won’t be jumping on the Chinese manufacturing craze bandwagon, like most of its competitors. In a recent report, brand boss Tokuo Fukuichi explained that they cannot afford to do so because Lexus is a much newer brand than its rivals, and they need to keep quality as high as possible, in order to maintain their image.
Reuters quotes Fukuichi as saying, “The German Three have a brand image that they have cultivated over the past century in their long history, but Lexus is not in people’s minds like that yet. Customers would leave us if we have any problems with quality because that is what they are seeking in a Lexus.”
Infiniti is another example of a manufacturer who did go ahead and commenced Chinese production. In fact, Nissan’s luxury arm even went as far as to move its headquarters from its traditional home of Yokohama, Japan to Hong Kong, in 2012…
For Lexus, the US is seen as the best bet for manufacturing, and it has announced that it’s looking into beginning local production there in 2015. It currently makes the RX SUV in Canada.
By Andrei Nedelea
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