Industry-leading 10-year battery warranty for Lexus UX300e
Lexus has announced an industry-leading 10-year battery warranty for its hybrid and electric models, including the just-arrived UX300e and the soon-to-arrive NX450h+.
Adding to the newly-extended five-year unlimited kilometre warranty on the rest of the car – matching that of parent company Toyota and most mainstream brands – the battery warranty is at least two years longer than all other EVs sold in Australia.
It’s a bold statement from a brand that – like Toyota – prides itself on longevity and reliability, something that pays off in the used car market with solid resale values on older models.
And the long battery warranty – batteries are the most expensive component of an EV – provides a point of differentiation in a booming EV market that Lexus has been late to enter with its UX300e, which is priced from $74,000 before on-road costs.
READ MORE: Lexus UX300e specifications confirmed
Most EV makers offer an eight-year warranty covering around 160,000km of driving.
Kia is one exception, its battery warranty expiring after seven years. And BMW and Mini only cover 100,000km of driving over eight years.
The 10-year warranty covers up to 160,000km of driving and guarantees at least 70 percent of the original capacity of the battery.
It requires a complimentary annual “health check” of the battery after five years.
The long high voltage battery warranty is a clear signal Lexus plans to lean on its reputation for reliabiliy in the EV space.
“Lexus listened closely to our loyal owners, ensuring that luxury compact SUV customers are put first with an all-encompassing ownership package designed to make the UX300e both great to own and fun to drive,” said Lexus Australia chief executive Scott Thompson.
As announced previously, the Lexus UX300e will be available in two trim levels in Australia: Luxury or Sports Luxury.
The $74,000 Luxury is comprehensively equipped with 17-inch alloy wheels, smart key entry, wireless phone charging, parking sensors front and rear and a 13-speaker Mark Levinson sound system. There’s also a 10.3-inch central touchscreen incorporating Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well as digital radio tuning.
The Sports Luxury is $81,000 plus on-road costs and adds 18-inch wheels, leather trim, sunroof, head-up display, full LED headlights and a higher level of trim for the doors and dashboard, the latter including Japanese “washi” trim.
Both come with a three-year Chargefox subscription for free charging at Chargefox outlets. Lexus will also install a 7kW wallbox charger at your home.
Lexus also includes its Encore Platinum program usually reserved for LS, LX and LC models. As well as valet parking it includes Lexus on Demand, which allows owners to access Lexus loan vehicles four times for up to eight days each over the first three years of ownership at airports including Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Cairns, Maroochydore, Perth, Auckland and Queenstown.
Each Lexus UX300e will miss out on the $3000 EV rebates offered in NSW and Victoria but the more affordable Luxury model should get the NSW stamp duty concession.
The UX300e comes with the CHAdeMO plug that is popular in Japan but little used in Australia; the only other battery electric vehicle that uses CHAdeMO is the Nissan Leaf. Like that car the UX300e also gets a Type 2 plug for AC charging.
Lexus is including an adapter to allow owners to utilise DC outlets that only have the Type 2 CCS combo plug.
The UX300e gets a 54.3kWh battery claimed to give 305km of WLTP range.
AC charging can be done at up to 6.6kW, allowing a 100 percent charge using a wallbox charger in as little about nine hours. Charging from a home powerpoint will take more like 24 hours.
DC charging can be done at up to 50kW and is claimed to take as little as 59 minutes for a 0-80 percent charge or 80 minutes for a full top-up.
