No price yet for UX 300e but expressions of interest being taken.

AN end-of-2021 local market arrival timing has been announced for the UX 300e, the first Lexus to be wholly reliant on battery-fed electric power.

Confirmation of the small SUV’s local availability comes more than a year after the local arm expressed interest and almost two years since its global debut at a motor show in China.

No pricing or specification detail has been shared by the elite arm of Palmerston North-based Toyota New Zealand, but it now taking registrations of interest.

Those wanting to buy in are being advised that the version will become the new flagship placing above current fare, the UX 200 petrol, which starts at $59,990, and the next step UX 250h hybrid variants, which hit almost $77,000 in top Limited form. These have been sold locally since early 2019.

Unsurprisingly little different in look to the standard Lexus UX on which it’s based, the model is powered by a 150kW/300Nm synchronous electric motor fed by a 54kWh lithium-ion battery mounted under the floor.

Power is fed through the front wheels, top speed is limited to 160kmh and the range is estimated to be around 400kms, when measured by NEDC, a scale that has now been discontinued in favour of the more accurate WLTP assessment. Lexus says that range requires certain driving conditions. It takes about 60 minutes for DC fast charging. 

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.  

Lexus NZ’s promotion for the vehicle hangs on contention that, despite being the first BEV from Lexus, it is a car that nonetheless advance the make’s “leadership in electrification.”  

It’s a marketing tactic to remind that the premium marque and its parent are the biggest producers of hybrid cars, whose technology is claimed to be self-charging.

That descriptive tends to rile EV fans and can muddy legislative view, adopted in New Zealand, that electrically-assisted drivetrains only count for EV status if they can be externally replenished. With traditional Toyota and Lexus mild hybrids, energy they store is produced through kinetic energy, when braking, or from the engine acting as a generator.

Even so, Lexus NZ holds that the UX 300e harnesses more than 15 years of ‘unrivalled’ Lexus expertise in electric motor, battery and energy management development.

UX has been in production for more than a year and recently Lexus has shown off another electric model, also a SUV but still a concept, that appears to be based on a platform that will also support a Toyota electric soft-roader that will be on sale here next year. That car will be larger than the UX.

 Lexus New Zealand general manager Andrew Davis says his brand chose the UX platform as its introductory model with ‘pure electric technology’ because “as the smallest Lexus SUV, this makes the UX300e an accessible luxury battery electric SUV.
 
“The UX 300e is the first of many new electrified Lexus models which will ultimately contribute to the decarbonisation of our national vehicle fleet - a key objective of the NZ government,” Mr Davis says.
 
He says Lexus will continue to lead the luxury market in New Zealand in reducing CO2 emissions, citing that by 2025, Lexus globally plans to introduce 20 new or improved models, including more than 10 electrified BEV, PHEV or HEV models, based on the concept of offering the right products, in the right place, at the right time.
 
The Lexus journey from first adding an electric motor and battery to a petrol engine to create the ‘hybrid’ powertrain, and then to battery electric and plug-in hybrid options, mirrors the transitional pathway the company says is the most feasible method to get New Zealand to a zero-carbon future.
 
“We don’t see an immediate jump to BEV for all drivers. We expect that as Lexus drivers upgrade over time, they will continue to purchase vehicles that meet their needs,” Davis asserts.

“Our role is to be able to provide these vehicles in the most fuel efficient and low carbon-emitting way.”
 
UX 300e takes the ‘Lexus Electrification’ vision to the next level, he contends, but first and foremost, it is a Lexus and so embodies the marque’s qualities of brave design, takumi craftsmanship, imaginative technology and ‘omotenashi’ – luxurious hospitality.

The variant is built alongside hybrid models in Kyushu, Japan, where production standards are claimed to be especially high. The car’s design features also tailor toward it delivering high standards of refinement, even by Lexus standard.

Before shipping, every UX 300e is checked for perfection in a ‘Quiet Room’ facility, the aim being to detect and rectify unwanted noise and vibrations within the cabin.

Lexus says its hybrid electric cars have been trusted by more than 4000 New Zealand customers since the brand's first arrived in 2006 and that sales have increased 168 percent since 2018.

 That 70 percent of NZ customers have chosen a hybrid model this year is being taken as confirmation that luxury customers are embracing battery-involved Lexus models that lower emissions and increase driving enjoyment.