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Lexus Posts Best Ever Monthly Sales in 11-Year History

4 September 2000

Lexus Posts Best Ever Monthly Sales in 11-Year History; First Luxury Import Make to Surpass 20,000 Units

    TORRANCE, Calif., Sept. 1 With August sales of 21,280,
Lexus posted the best-ever sales month in its 11-year history.  This sales
record tops Lexus' previous best month ever of 18,110 vehicles set in May 1999
and marks the first time a luxury import make has sold more than 20,000 units
in a single month.
    August results bring Lexus' year-to-date total sales to 132,561 units,
6.4 percent ahead of last year's record pace.  August 2000 also outpaced
August 1999 by 20.0 percent.
    The new Lexus IS 300 played a significant role in establishing the sales
record.  Lexus sold 2,998 of the high-performance sport sedans in August.  The
RX 300 sport utility vehicle continued to be the division's volume leader with
August sales of 9,117, up 30.0 percent from August 1999 and year-to-date sales
of more than 60,355 units, 28.9 percent ahead of last year.
    "This was truly an 'Awesome August' for Lexus.  While our SUVs are still
going strong, this is the first month of our onslaught of car sales," said
Lexus Group Vice President and General Manager Denny Clements.  "The IS 300 is
selling like hotcakes and bringing an all-new buyer to Lexus.  And in October,
our loyal Lexus owners will be re-visiting their dealers to purchase the
all-new LS 430 premium luxury sedan.  This is a very exciting time for Lexus
and I have no doubt that we'll see record sales at year end."
    The ES 300 near-luxury sedan had its best month in over a year with 4,375
units sold, an increase of 8.1 percent over last year.  The GS 300 and GS 400
high-performance luxury sedans posted sales of 2,066 and 382 respectively,
while the SC 300 and SC 400 luxury sport coupes had sales of 54.  Sales for
the LS 400 premium luxury sedan are winding down due to the introduction of
the LS 430, but sales were steady at 955.
    The LX 470 premium SUV marked a new best ever August with 1,333 units
sold, up 16.5 percent over last year.