Lexus buyers in China are about to encounter some exceptional price hikes as the result of a new Government policy:

The Lexus cars to be marked up are mainly the 3.5L-plus models. The 2008 Lexus ES 350, of the lowest rise rate, has its price marked up by 57,000 yuan ($8,340USD) to 529,000 yuan ($77,406USD). The 2008 Lexus LS600hL, a hybrid model, has 513,000 yuan ($75,065USD) added to its current price of 1.598 million yuan ($233,830). The prices of the Lexus IS-Series models have not risen this time.

The Lexus models will sell at new prices when the policy of new consumption taxes on imported cars is implemented later this year. The policy says the tax rate of vehicles with displacement of 3.0L to 4.0L will increase to 25% from 15%; the tax rate of 4.0L and above vehicles will rise to 40% from the current 20%.

I definitely had a bout of nausea while converting the numbers to US funds, though the prices were hardly reasonable to begin with.

Of course, it makes perfect sense in the eyes of the government officials as Consumers will be more likely to buy Chinese. Not only that, if foreign car manufacturers still want to tap into the world's most promising market, they'll have to build local factories.

[Source: Gasgoo]

The Lexus LX 570 went on sale today in China today, retailing with the rather extraordinary price tag of 1.3 million yuan, which translates to $179,000 USD, or roughly 242.5% higher than the USA's retail price of $73,800.

Frankly, an increase of over $100,000 is astounding, yet it's hardly out of place when looking at the competition. Let's take a Mercedes GL450, which starts at $56,725 USD stateside. A chinese buyer would have to pay 1.348 million yuan, or $185,600 USD, a whopping 327.2% increase. The BMW X5 4.8i is even worse, though not by much. It retails for $54,500 USD in the States and costs 1.336 million yuan ($184,000 USD), an increase of 337.6%.

Put into this context, it could be said that the Lexus LX 570 is the best deal, but that's hardly an argument I'd be willing to make.

[Source: GasGoo]

It's been less than two weeks since the LS 600hL was released in China, and now the latest news is that the LF-A is next in line:

"We are planning to import the latest Lexus models to the Chinese market at the earliest time possible," said Zeng Lintang, vice president of Toyota Motor (China) Investment Co at a test drive activity for Lexus LS600hL recently.

"Lexus LF-A blends the performance of an exotic sports car with the luxury refinements of a Lexus, and we anticipate that the model will be sold at more than 2 million yuan ($264,700) here in China."

The price seems rather high, but it fits with the markup usually seen with a Chinese release. For example, the LS600hL, sold in the USA for $104,000, retails in China for $210,263. If the ratio is the same, could the LF-A retail in North America for $129,703?

Not very likely, especially when considering Lintang's statement that "the model will be sold at more than 2 million yuan ($264,700)."

[Source: GasGoo]