Could Lexus be interested in using Tesla’s “mall-showroom”
strategy in the future? Lexus USA general manager Jeff Bracken states that the
showrooms are “clever” , according to an interview with Wards Auto.
“The model that Tesla has to open up their outlets in
shopping malls is a clever one, (and) I think they’re getting a lot of folks to
stop in and learn about Tesla,” Jeff Bracken, group vice president-Lexus at
Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. recently told a crowd at a late November media
gathering here.
“We’re interested to watch what (Tesla does), how the
business model works and what kind of customers wander into their outlets,” he
says. “That’s really interesting to us and that’s about as much as I would be able
to share with you today.”
All Tesla stores are company-owned, which reflects a
difference in the brands. Bracken sees this as an advantage:
“If we were ever to consider something like that, we would
keep our dealers part of the solution, no question about it,” Bracken says.
“But it’s intriguing if young folks are telling us they don’t really look
forward to going to a traditional dealership, but they still have an interest
in buying a vehicle or shopping for a vehicle. (If) that’s an outlet that could
work for them, then we need to take a look at that to see if that’s something
that could make sense for us.”
Could we see some Lexus mall-showrooms in our future? Who knows! But for now, you can come to us
for all of your Lexus questions!
