Rich & Richer: Lexus Tries To Move Up

Lexus is the top-selling luxury auto brand, thanks to the IS, ES and LS models being popular among buyers willing to spend $30,000 and $75,000 on a vehicle.  Overall, luxury sales have more than doubled since 1999 to 1.9 million units.

Now Lexus wants a piece of the growing upper end of the luxury market, where Mercedes and BMW sell vehicles for more than $100,000.

As Phil LeBeau reports, Lexus is taking a calculated approach to its quest by studying what car lovers want.

It turns out that the super rich who can afford $100,000 cars, usually have several of them. But any car in that class has to be distinctive.

So, Lexus is trying to stand out by emphasizing technology. Its new LS 600 is an eight-cylinder hybrid that delivers 12-cylinder performance.

Automakers

TICKER	COMPANY	PRICE	CHANGE	%CHANGE
7267.T-JP	Honda Motor Co Ltd	1,750.50	UNCH	UNCH
7203.T-JP	Toyota Motor Corp	3,510.00	UNCH	UNCH