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Lexus Chief Sees Luxury Growth--Targeting Younger Buyers

DETROIT -- (WWJ) Toyota's Lexus luxury brand is trying to reach out to younger buyers, beyond the baby boomer group that has made the brand a success.

"We want to certainly continue to take care of our baby boomer owners, but there's a lot of gen x , gen y even millenials coming to the market," says Lexus Vice President and General Manager Jeff Bracken. "That's why you're seeing our product and our advertising even more aggressive than you've seen in the past, to make sure that we attract buyers to the brand that maybe would not have considered us otherwise."

Bracken pointed to more performance oriented products, along with an edgier styling, plus ads that have a bit more of an edge to them.

"It is definitely a risk we are taking as a brand," he said. "But, I think, in our view, it's one that if we wont be able to bring gen x, gen y, young customers into our brands."

Lexus is in the process of introducing two new products, a new sporty RC and a new small crossover, the NX, which officially hits the market in early December. Both of those products are aimed at a younger audience.

But, Bracken said, Lexus is not going to get into the sub $30,000 market to compete with some entry level vehicles from Mercedes and BMW. Lower priced vehicles would also compete with Toyota, and, Bracken says, unlike some other brands, the company does not need the vehicles to meet fuel economy standards.

In a speech to the Automotive Press Association, Bracken hinted that we could see two new Lexus products at January's North American International Auto Show in January. He also said that Lexus should meet its goal of selling 300 thousand vehicles this year.

Lexus has just started launching its holiday advertising, and began its year-end incentives at the start of November. The holiday season, particularly December is a good month for luxury brands.

"It is absolutely the best month of the year, and that week between Christmas and New Years, the best week of the year," said Bracken.

Luxury brands run ads with giant bows on the top of vehicles, and are also looking to meet year end sales goals. There are also customer expectations, which have been built up with years of special holiday ads and special holiday deals.

"When they are in their trade cycles, they will wait," said Bracken. "It's like we've trained a lot of the public to wait for these incentives and marketing campaigns to roll out."

Connect with Jeff Gilbert
Email: jdgilbert@cbs.com
Facebook: facebook.com/carchronicles
Twitter: @jefferygilbert
www.cbsdetroit.com/carchronicles

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