Lexus India has been engaging in a community building strategy that emphasizes exceptional customer experiences and social responsibility. The brand has established a reputation for its commitment to craftsmanship, innovation, and customer-centricity in the luxury automotive market in India. In an effort to bolster its community relation, Lexus India recently organized ‘Lexus Life: Crafts from Japan’ in New Delhi.
One of the core aspects of Lexus India’s community building strategy is its customer-centric approach. The brand places a strong emphasis on delivering personalized experiences, timely assistance, and a seamless ownership experience through its extensive network of dealerships. The goal is to meet and exceed customer expectations, building a strong community of satisfied Lexus owners in India.
Overall, Lexus India’s community building strategy is centered on delivering exceptional customer experiences, organizing exclusive events and experiences, actively participating in CSR initiatives, and leveraging digital platforms to connect with customers. These efforts are aimed at creating a strong sense of community, building customer loyalty, and establishing a long-lasting relationship with its customers in India.
In an exclusive conversation with ETAuto, Naveen Soni, President, Lexus India, said, “We don’t just want to be a luxury mobility partner, but rather a luxury lifestyle partner. We start by understanding our customers, whom we call guests, as we believe in treating them like guests in our own home. We try to understand their passion points and curate events and experiences that cater to those interests. For example, the recent event in Japan was curated for culture lovers. We believe that building a community around the brand is important, and we want our guests to feel like they are part of a larger community that shares similar interests and values. We aim to go beyond just providing a product or service, and create a holistic experience that resonates with our guests’ lifestyle.”On the electric vehicle lineup expansion in India, he said that the direction for Lexus was set in motion sometime last year, before December 2021 when Akio Toyoda, the current chairman and managing director, mentioned that the company would be looking at battery electrics as the way forward for Lexus.
“Akio Toyoda has mandated that 100% of our lineup should come from battery electric cars. This direction was subsequently supported by a leadership change, which gave more details about it, setting a global precedent. Different chemistries play a crucial role in determining what kind of battery chemistry we can adopt for a particular country, mainly due to the challenges of heat and dust, which can affect the performance of the battery,” he said.
“The behaviour of electrolytes in the battery changes with temperature, and this is why we have imported a few battery electric vehicles to India for testing under extreme conditions, including hot and dusty conditions. We are providing feedback to our headquarters based on these tests. Meanwhile, we are confident that since 97% of our lineup in India is already hybrids, with 65% of the driving time being on batteries, the transition to battery electric vehicles will be seamless and smooth, as hybrids mostly run as battery electric vehicles in India,” Soni added.
The timeline for launching a pure battery electric vehicle from Lexus globally was announced recently to be around 2026. This will be the start of a new era for battery electrics from Lexus, and Lexus hopes to see more production in the coming years, according to the Lexus India president.
