Lexus Retains Best-Selling Luxury Brand Title for Fourth Year in a Row - Reports Record-Breaking Vehicle Sales For 2003

TORRANCE, Calif., Jan. 5, 2004 -- With record-breaking 2003 annual sales, Lexus retained its crown as the nation's No. 1 selling luxury brand for the fourth consecutive year. The automaker today reported total year-end sales of 259,755, up 11.0 percent over last year's record-breaking number.

"It's nice to be number one, but that's never a sales priority for Lexus," said Denny Clements, Lexus group vice president and general manager. "Our continued success is based on the quality of our products, the loyalty of our customers, and the commitment of our dealers to deliver an exceptional owner experience."

In addition to all-time best-ever calendar-year-to-date (CYTD) sales, Lexus luxury utility vehicles enjoyed a record sales year, up 57.5 percent compared to 2002 totals of 132,935 units. The all-new RX 330 was the luxury utility vehicle CYTD sales leader with 92,366 units sold, an increase of 26.6 percent over the same period last year. The GX 470 mid-size SUV recorded annual sales of 31,376 in its first full year on the market.

Lexus also scored a best ever December with 28,176 units sold. Record-breaking December light truck sales of 15,538 units, up 30.6 percent over last December, were ignited by best-ever sales of 10,594 RX 330 luxury utility vehicles. The LX 470 full-size SUV was up 15.8 percent for the month, while the GX 470 mid-size SUV also enjoyed a best-ever month with 3,781 sales, up 66.0 percent over the same period last year.

In addition to record-breaking new vehicle sales, Lexus Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) vehicle sales hit record highs in 2003. Lexus CPO sales of 40,420 were up 1.8 percent over 2002 calendar year totals.