First Lexus EV confirmed for Australia

Lexus Australia has announced it will release its first electric vehicle – the Lexus UX 300e – this time next year at the 2021 Lexus Melbourne Cup.

Confirmation of the battery-powered small SUV’s local release, following its global debut at the 2019 Guangzhou motor show in China last November, means Lexus will beat its parent company Toyota to offer an EV in Australia.

The first EV from Lexus looks a lot like the standard Lexus UX on which it’s based, but the difference is its driver will never need to visit a petrol station thanks to an all-electric driving range of up to 400km (NEDC).

The front-wheel drive Lexus UX 300e is powered by a 150kW/300Nm synchronous electric motor fed by a 54kWh lithium-ion battery mounted under the floor.

That makes it smaller than the 64kWh battery pack in the Hyundai Kona Electric, an SUV that is roughly the same size and costs around $60,000.

The Lexus will be pricier than that with an expected sticker price of around $70,000, which will nonetheless make it cheaper than larger, $100,000-plus e-SUVs from rival luxury auto brands like Audi (e-tron), Jaguar (I-PACE) and Mercedes-Benz (EQC).

The Lexus UX 300e weighs in at a hefty 1900kg, rides 20mm lower to the ground than other UX variants and has specially designed alloy wheels and a flat underbody to improve aerodynamics. Top speed is 160km/h.

Lexus says it will take around 50 minutes to fully charge the UX 300e on a 50kW fast-charger, or about seven hours via a regular household power outlet.

The inside of the car is also barely distinguishable from regular models, with a slightly different instrument cluster the only change.

Lexus has promised an electrified variant of every model in its range by 2025 – although it already has a hybrid version of every model it sells, except for the RC coupe and Toyota LandCruiser-based LX 570.

Lexus Australia says it has sold 29,000 hybrid vehicles since 2006 and that one-third of its sales so far this year have been hybrids.

"We are privileged to have had overwhelmingly positive feedback from luxury customers who have owned Lexus self-charging hybrid electric vehicles, confirming that we committed to this pioneering technology at the right time," said Lexus Australia chief executive Scott Thompson.

"The 'right time' also guides the introduction of the first all-electric Lexus.

"Between now and when the UX 300e arrives in November 2021, we will ensure that all-electric Lexus ownership equals the unwavering standards of owning a Lexus self-charging hybrid electric vehicle."

The 2021 Lexus UX 300e will be positioned above the existing petrol UX 200 and petrol-electric UX 250h variants, which have been on sale in Australia since December 2018 and currently span $46,500-$64,000.