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2022 Lexus UX300e confirmed for Australia! Brand's first electric car to rival new Mercedes-Benz EQA and BMW iX1

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The UX300e was revealed almost a year ago to the day.
The UX300e was revealed almost a year ago to the day.
Justin Hilliard
Head of Editorial
9 Nov 2020
3 min read

Lexus has confirmed its first all-electric vehicle (EV) for Australia, with the UX300e small SUV’s local launch to coincide with next November’s Melbourne Cup Carnival, a major event the brand is the premier sponsor of.

The UX300e will arrive Down Under two years after its reveal, with pricing and specification details are yet to be finalised, although Lexus Australia chief executive Scott Thompson told journalists today it will be the “performance flagship” in the increasingly popular UX line-up.

As such, the UX300e will command a premium over the UX’s current flagship, the petrol-electric UX250h F Sport ($64,000 plus on-road costs), although buyers will be somewhat compensated for the extra spend with its superior performance.

As reported, the UX300e is powered by a 150kW/300Nm electric motor, which drives the front wheels from a standstill to 100km/h in 7.5 seconds.

This unit is teamed with a 54.3kWh lithium-ion battery that provides 400km of NEDC driving range and can be fast charged in about 50 minutes.

The UX300e will command a premium over the UX’s current flagship, the petrol-electric UX250h F Sport.
The UX300e will command a premium over the UX’s current flagship, the petrol-electric UX250h F Sport.

A local aftersales package for the UX300e is yet to be locked in, although it is sold with a 10-year/1,000,000km battery warranty in other markets, so expect Lexus Australia’s offer to be unique when compared to all of its other models, especially if access to a charging network is included.

Either way, the UX300e will be sold and serviced by the entire Lexus Australia dealer network, with the necessary sales and servicing training to take place in the next 12 months alongside the required dealership upgrades.

According to Mr Thompson, ‘self-charging’ hybrid variants accounted for just less than half of the UX’s sales last month, while more than a third of Lexus Australia’s total vehicles sold so far this year have been fitted with low-emissions powertrains.

When asked for much of the UX mix the UX300e will command, he declined to offer a projection, instead noting the brand will sell as many or as few as required to meet demand, with it to primarily draw new buyers to the brand.

Early this decade, Lexus will debut its first plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain, likely in a next-generation NX mid-size SUV based on the related Toyota RAV4 Prime, while a dedicated EV platform is also scheduled then, with Australia to “strongly consider” both, according to Mr Thompson.

Of note, the UX300e will be the first EV in the premium Small SUV segment, although it will be joined by the Mercedes-Benz EQA and BMW iX1 at minimum in the coming years.

Justin Hilliard
Head of Editorial
Justin’s dad chose to miss his birth because he wanted to watch Peter Brock hopefully win Bathurst, so it figures Justin grew up to have a car obsession, too – and don’t worry, his dad did turn up in time after some stern words from his mum. That said, despite loving cars and writing, Justin chose to pursue career paths that didn’t lend themselves to automotive journalism, before eventually ending up working as a computer technician. But that car itch just couldn’t be scratched by his chipped Volkswagen Golf R (Mk7), so he finally decided to give into the inevitable and study a Master of Journalism at the same time. And even with the long odds, Justin was lucky enough to land a full-time job as a motoring journalist soon after graduating and the rest, as they say, is history. These days, Justin happily finds himself working at CarsGuide during the biggest period of change yet for the automotive industry, which is perhaps the most exciting part of all. In case you’re wondering, Justin begrudgingly sold the Golf R (sans chip) and still has plans to buy his dream car, an E46 BMW M3 coupe (manual, of course), but he is in desperate need of a second car space – or maybe a third.
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