Lexus Australia launches subscription service

Lexus Australia is aiming to ease the burden of extended wait times for new customers – now out to more than three years in some cases – by offering a new subscription-style service for buyers who are waiting for their new Lexus. to arrive

The local initiative, dubbed Lexus Now, is a pilot plan put together by Lexus Australia and a handful of its dealerships, and is set to become available in the coming weeks at participating dealers across the country.

Unlike Lexus on Demand, which allows owners to swap their vehicle for another Lexus model several times a year, Lexus Now is effectively a lease program offered to customers with an order for a new Lexus vehicle, while those facing an estimated delivery time of more than five months will receive extra benefits as part of the Japanese luxury brand’s Encore membership program.

Lexus Now is the first step in offering a proper vehicle subscription service, something Lexus Australia says is on the cards for the future.

The cost of the lease-style program is yet to be confirmed, however, Lexus is pitching the service as a pay-per-use system, as opposed to a proper lock-in lease over a set period.

Lexus is also keen to point out that it’s a pilot program still very much in its infancy, with more dealers currently signing up.

It also hasn’t confirmed which models will be available for lease, but carsales understands only lower-spec variations of the Lexus NX mid-size SUV will be offered for subscription initially, with other models set to be added as demand increases.

That’s despite Lexus Australia putting a sales hold on certain NX variants including the top-spec NX 450h+ plug-in hybrid, wait times for which have blown out to a whopping three years.

According to Lexus Australia spokesman Paul Ellis, the Lexus Now initiative will act as a test-bed for future mobility solutions as part of the Toyota premium brand’s “strong intention to move into a mobility company”.

Lexus Australia chief executive John Pappas told carsales that not everyone wants to own a car anymore, forcing the brand to look at extending its Encore owner benefits program and offer the Lexus Now program to non-Lexus owners. 

“At the moment we’re seeing a trend where [younger] people are extending when they get their licence,” said Pappas.

“[Younger people] don’t want to own a car. They want to rideshare or they want to Uber and they want to subscribe. Lexus now gives people a mobility option. They don’t have to own – they can use.”

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