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Lexus has confirmed its first all-electric vehicle (EV) for Australia, with the UX300e small SUV’s local launch to coincide with next November’s Melbourne Cup Carnival, a major event the brand is the premier sponsor of.
The UX300e will arrive Down Under two years after its reveal, with pricing and specification details are yet to be finalised, although Lexus Australia chief executive Scott Thompson told journalists today it will be the “performance flagship” in the increasingly popular UX line-up.
As such, the UX300e will command a premium over the UX’s current flagship, the petrol-electric UX250h F Sport ($64,000 plus on-road costs), although buyers will be somewhat compensated for the extra spend with its superior performance.
As reported, the UX300e is powered by a 150kW/300Nm electric motor, which drives the front wheels from a standstill to 100km/h in 7.5 seconds.
This unit is teamed with a 54.3kWh lithium-ion battery that provides 400km of NEDC driving range and can be fast charged in about 50 minutes.
A local aftersales package for the UX300e is yet to be locked in, although it is sold with a 10-year/1,000,000km battery warranty in other markets, so expect Lexus Australia’s offer to be unique when compared to all of its other models, especially if access to a charging network is included.
Either way, the UX300e will be sold and serviced by the entire Lexus Australia dealer network, with the necessary sales and servicing training to take place in the next 12 months alongside the required dealership upgrades.
According to Mr Thompson, ‘self-charging’ hybrid variants accounted for just less than half of the UX’s sales last month, while more than a third of Lexus Australia’s total vehicles sold so far this year have been fitted with low-emissions powertrains.
When asked for much of the UX mix the UX300e will command, he declined to offer a projection, instead noting the brand will sell as many or as few as required to meet demand, with it to primarily draw new buyers to the brand.
Early this decade, Lexus will debut its first plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain, likely in a next-generation NX mid-size SUV based on the related Toyota RAV4 Prime, while a dedicated EV platform is also scheduled then, with Australia to “strongly consider” both, according to Mr Thompson.
Of note, the UX300e will be the first EV in the premium Small SUV segment, although it will be joined by the Mercedes-Benz EQA and BMW iX1 at minimum in the coming years.
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