Lexus cold on EVs for Australia: will launch UX300e ‘when the time is right’
Lexus says a battery-electric vehicle is no closer to reality in Australia, with the brand saying there is no plan to launch the all-electric UX300e, instead saying it would wait until “the time is right”.
Despite Lexus registering the UX300e name for Australia two months ago and some expecting the car to hit dealerships as early as 2021, the official line from Lexus is that a decision hasn’t been made.
It’s a similar strategy to sibling brand Toyota, which insists Australians are currently more interested in plain-old hybrid technology, which runs only on petrol.
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As with Toyota, Lexus is for now instead focusing on hybrid technology for our market, rather than going all-in on battery electric vehicles, as most of its rivals already are with the Audi e-Tron, Jaguar I-Pace, Mercedes-Benz EQC and BMW i3s.
The brand has promised a PHEV will launch in the early “2020s”, but the vehicle that will lead Lexus’ true electric revolution will be the UX300e, with the BEV small SUV already making waves internationally.
The first all-electric Lexus produces 150kW and 300Nm, while its 54.3 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery will deliver some 300km of driving range on the WLTP cycle.
But while it concedes electrification is its future – and rumours swirl that the UX300e could arrive next year – Lexus remains vague on when we might actually see the UX300e in Australia.
“Electrification is a part of the brand’s future. We’ve already announced there will be plug-in powertrains coming in the future” says Lexus Australia CEO, Scott Thompson.
“We’re always looking to expand our different powertrains, but the key thing for us is to ensure that when we bring those powertrains in, we can still deliver the overall Lexus ownership experience.
“We have a team actively working on that now. Once the time is right, once we can deliver it, we will look at expanding our powertrains.”
So for now, it’s a watch and wait, with the expectation of an official UX300e announcement soon.
