Lexus Faces Tough Sledding in Chinese Market

Toyota Motor Corp.’s premium Lexus brand is launching the seventh generation of its mid-sized ES saloon at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition on Wednesday, even as the company’s resistance to make cars in China has left it with a disadvantage in the broader Chinese market. Current luxury leaderMercedes-Benz, which has made the E-Class in China since 2005, sold nearly five times as many cars as Lexus last year. A decade ago, the companies were almost neck-and-neck. General Motors Co.’s Cadillac nabbed the no. 4 spot in 2016, the year it opened a factory for its high-end marque in Shanghai.