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Although affected by the COVID-19 epidemic and parts shortage in 2021, Lexus, as a luxury brand, is still growing. Recently, the latest official figures released by Lexus show that global sales in 2021 totaled 760012 vehicles, up 6 per cent from a year earlier.

Judging from the performance of major markets, Lexus has achieved growth in many markets around the world. Among them, North America is the largest market for Lexus, with cumulative sales of 332000 vehicles in 2021, an increase of 12% over the same period last year, and the fastest growing market for Lexus. In its home market, Lexus sold just 51000 vehicles for the year, up 4 per cent from a year earlier. In Europe and the Middle East, Lexus sales were 72000 and 30000, respectively, with East Asia the only market showing a decline, down 5 per cent.

Lexus also grew in China, but not as much as in North America. Lexus's cumulative sales in China reached 227000 in 2021, up 1 per cent from a year earlier, according to data. According to relevant data, Lexus sold 38000 vehicles in China in the fourth quarter of 2021, down 34% from the previous quarter and 48% from the same period last year, meaning that Lexus was greatly affected by the shortage of chips in the fourth quarter.

In the Chinese market, Cadillac overtook Lexus to become the top seller of traditional second-tier luxury brands. The insured volume shows that Cadillac overtook Lexus in 2021, an increase of 2.5 per cent year-on-year to 233000 vehicles, ranking sixth. In terms of specific models, 62000 Cadillac CT5, 52000 XT5 and 49000 XT4 are insured. As for Lexus, it insured 219000 vehicles in China this year, down 6.8% from a year earlier and three places lower than in 2020. In terms of specific models, the insurance volume of Lexus ES fell 7.8 per cent year-on-year, Lexus RX fell 2 per cent, and Lexus NX sales fell 10 per cent year-on-year. However, although Lexus does not sell as much as Cadillac, as an imported brand, the average annual transaction price of Lexus is 419000 yuan, while the average transaction price of Cadillac is 285000 yuan, the lowest among luxury brands.

Although affected by the epidemic and parts shortage, Lexus still achieved growth in 2021, which is also a good performance, while Toyota Motor Group held a press conference in December 2021 on the development plan of new energy vehicles in the future. 16 pure electric models were announced in one breath, declaring that Toyota and Lexus will enter the pure electric camp. At the press conference, Lexus said it would launch corresponding levels of electric cars in all market segments by 2030, fully electric in Europe, North America and China by 2030, and completely abandon fuel systems around 2035. Toyota and Lexus, which plan to sell 3.5 million electric vehicles, including all-electric and fuel-cell vehicles, by 2030 have increased investment in battery development from Y500 billion to Y2,000bn.

Although the RZ is not Lexus's first pure electric product, the RZ is Lexus's first pure tram, and its importance is self-evident. According to the recent exposure of the Lexus RZ, the front face of the new car still retains the classic Lexus spindle style, with bright black paint on both sides. In addition, the headlight group uses a sharp styling design, the interior is equipped with "hook" LED daytime driving lights, the nose overall line to create a nose cone design, the details are very aggressive. On the side of the body, the new car uses a hidden B, C, D column design to create a sense of vision of the suspended roof. In addition, the new car uses a double waistline design, which extends from the front wing to the middle of the body, together with the rib line below the front door to create a dynamic effect. In the rear part, the new car will use a penetrating LED light group, with a roof spoiler and a duck tail spoiler in the back compartment, and the design of a double spoiler will also bring a very dynamic visual effect for the new car.

KojiSato, global president of Lexus, said: "Lexus will continue to bring Lexus design aesthetics and driving fun to consumers in 2022, and we will also accelerate the development of pure tram models. RZ, the first new energy car line and an all-electric car line, will have the opportunity to appear in the second quarter of 2022. In the follow-up, Lexus will also launch more pure electric models to meet the different daily needs of consumers. "

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