[smush]

I stand corrected.

Having performed some cursory 'research' I found that in the USA in 2018, according to https://www.best-selling-cars.com/brands/2018-full-year-usa-...

All Lexus vehicles combined sold 92,660 units versus the 4Runner model which sold 139,694 units.

A difference of 47,000 units, or roughly, the 2018 US sales for the Lexus ES

[quicklyfrozen]

92,660 is the total for Lexus cars, not vehicles; total Lexus US sales from that chart is 298,310.

[pixelbash]

At a guess the USA is not the primary market for Lexus.

[tastygreenapple]

America is 100% the primary market for Lexus.

The first Lexus car ever was unveiled in the 1989 Detroit Auto Show, Toyota's first non-Japanese Lexus plant was in North America. In fact, Toyota stopped selling top-of-the-line cars after Lexus launched, they discontinued the Cressida and stretched the Camry into the Avalon just to have a full-sized Toyota in America.

Toyota didn't even sell Lexus cars in Japan until ~2006, the American Lexus vehicles were badged as Toyotas (e.g The LS400/LS430 was the 'Celsior'). Additionally, Japanese luxury tastes are different than American tastes - the Japanese Toyota Celsiors were available with a premium cloth interior and without sunroofs (which came standard on many American Lexus cars).

Now, Lexus may sell more in the Middle East than North America (by revenue if not units) but America was 100% the target market.

[chubbyrabbit]

There's a joke that Lexus stands for Let's Export to the US.