First Lexus EV gets million-kilometre battery warranty

Lexus is so confident in its first pure-electric vehicle that it has stamped the battery pack in the Lexus UX 300e with a generous 10-year/1,000,000km warranty.

The industry-leading battery warranty, which betters Tesla’s by two years, is said to be aided by the luxury marque’s experience in electrification, including more than 1.7 million hybrid vehicles over the last 15 years.

Currently on sale in China and soon to be introduced to selected markets in Europe, the Lexus UX 300e is yet to be confirmed for the Australian market, where the Japanese brand’s four-year/100,000km factory vehicle warranty falls short of the five-year/unlimited-km warranty of rivals like Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and Volvo.

Lexus Australia boss Scott Thompson has previously expressed interest in the brand’s ground-breaking new EV, telling carsales he’d “love to take it, but the conversation will still be around timing, infrastructure, regulation, global demand for the car”.

If it did make it Down Under, the Lexus UX 300e would sit alongside petrol and hybrid versions of the compact premium SUV already sold here.

The Lexus EV’s class-leading warranty applied to its newly developed 54.3kW/h lithium-ion battery pack, which the Japanese manufacturer says is able to achieve more than 300km of range on the WLTP cycle.

The battery cell is air-cooled – not liquid-cooled as in other EVs such as Teslas and the Hyundai Kona Electric – which Lexus says makes it safer, lighter and able to ensure stable output “even at high speed and during repeated charging”.

Lexus claims heating elements under each battery module minimise the impact of cold weather on driving range, ensuring full power is available from the start, while rubber seals protect the battery pack from water and dust for “a long, trouble-free service life”.

Powered by a 150kW electric motor/generator, the Lexus UX 300e sends power exclusively to the front wheels. The battery pack is located under the cabin floor to ensure a low centre of gravity, and Lexus says the electric crossover can sprint to 100km/h in 7.5 seconds.

As we’ve previously reported, Lexus – like its Toyota sister brand – has promised an electrified variant of every model in its range by 2025.