The Lexus ES range goes hybrid-only in Australia.
Following the axing of petrol-powered variants of the UX small SUV earlier this 12 months, Lexus Australia has now dropped the ES250 mid-sized sedan.
This was a petrol-powered counterpart to the ES300h hybrid introduced to Australia in 2021.
It was the one petrol-powered ES variant offered in Australia, with the V6-powered ES350 off-limits to our market despite the previous-generation ES offering V6 power here.
Yr-to-date, the ES250 accounted for just 10 per cent of total ES sales.
Lexus Australia said when it announced the ES250 that it could add incremental sales volume to the ES lineup.
Its axing means the bottom price of the ES is now higher. The range now opens with the ES300h Luxury at $65,540 before on-road costs, $3400 greater than the defunct ES250 Luxury.
The ES250 was offered only in Luxury and F Sport guises, with just the ES300h available in range-topping Sports Luxury guise.
“Lexus has at all times said our customers will inform us after they are able to make the switch from petrol to either hybrid or fully electric,” said Lexus Australia boss John Pappas.
“Our Lexus ES customers are actually telling us they’re ready, and we’re listening, as nine out of each 10 deliveries of ES to this point this 12 months feature an intelligent hybrid powertrain.”
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ES300h Sports Luxury
Lexus Australia says that to this point this 12 months, vehicles with either an electrical, plug-in hybrid or hybrid powertrain are accounting for 74.5 per cent of its total sales – keeping it on course for these powertrains to account for 100 per cent of its sales by 2030.
“In 2022 were were just below 50 per cent total electrified volume, in 2023 we were just over 60 per cent, and we’re tracking at 75 per cent, so we’re making that transition nicely,” a Lexus Australia spokesperson told CarExpert in November.
While the UX, LM people mover and now the ES are hybrid-only, Lexus still offers each petrol and hybrid versions of its NX and RX SUVs, the LS limousine and the LC sports automobile.
The LBX light SUV launched as a hybrid-only model, but is gaining a hot petrol-powered Morizo RR edition in 2025.
The GX and LX off-road SUVs are presently available only with petrol or diesel powertrains, but a hybrid version of the latter was revealed in October and Lexus Australia says it “shall be considered” for our market.
Lexus has been more gradual in its removal of petrol-powered models than parent company Toyota’s namesake brand.
Over the past 12 months, Toyota Australia has axed petrol versions of the Yaris, Corolla, Camry, C-HR, RAV4 and Kluger, citing “consumer demand”.
Buyers of those models often disproportionately preferred the hybrid powertrains, with the Kluger for instance having been sitting at a hybrid takeup rate of over 75 per cent.
This Article First Appeared At www.carexpert.com.au
