Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus is considering assembling its ES brand in India to take advantage of lower import tariffs on auto parts, according to the Asahi newspaper. Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus is considering assembling its ES brand in the nation to take advantage of lower import tariffs on auto parts, the Asahi newspaper reported, citing an unidentified official. To understand why that’s such a coup, it’s worth considering the over-the-top quality emphasis with which Toyota has traditionally imbued the Lexus brand. The 131,000 Lexus cars sold in China last year attracted import taxes that priced them above rivals Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi—but manufacturing locally poses too many risks to the peerless brand, Takashi Yamamoto, executive vice president of Lexus International told Bloomberg News in 2015. Perhaps in several decades the world’s largest manufacturing economy will evolve to the point where Lexus might dip a toe in, he said.

Source: Mint February 26, 2018 08:03 UTC