Lexus, which entered the Indian market in March 2017 is planning to start an assembly unit in India. According to the reports, the Japanese carmaker is evaluating the possibilities of assembling its car locally in order to make its cars more affordable.

Lexus is a luxury car brand owned by Toyota Motor Corporation. The company recently restructured its Indian operation to create Lexus India. Its Indian portfolio comprises of three hybrid cars - RX 450h, ES 300h, and LX 450d, which are manufactured in Japan and North America and imported as completely built units (CBU). According to the government norms, CBUs are levied with 100% import duty. Plus, an additional cess is imposed on the hybrid vehicles in India, which makes these cars way costlier than their locally assembled competitors which attract only 30-40% tax.

According to Lexus President Yoshihiro Sawa, since the taxes are high on their current offering in India, the company is studying the option of assembling them locally. Though, Mr Shawa did not mention any details on by when the plants will be set up.

As of now, Lexus has four dealerships in India located in New Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. The company is positive about its growth in the country and looking forward to adding more products to its portfolio and more dealers to its network.