Wait times for new cars across the industry have been cut significantly for most brands, but Toyota and Lexus hybrids are still in such demand that extended waits are still common.
In good news for Lexus buyers, however, the company has announced wait times have returned to between two and four months on 70 per cent of its models – what it describes as “acceptable”.
The brand says you’ll be waiting between two and four months for the UX SUV, ES sedan, NX petrol SUV, RZ electric SUV, and RX350 and RX350h.
Lexus NX
It anticipates you’ll be waiting a similar amount of time for the NX350h SUV by the middle of 2024, although the NX450h plug-in hybrid remains off sale.
Wait times for the LX off-roader are still sitting at around two years, while the LS sedan and LC two-door are built to order and have wait times of around 12 months.
Speaking to CarExpert at the recent Lexus GX launch, Lexus Australia CEO John Pappas laid out the state of play across the lineup.
Lexus UX
“The time between a customer placing an order with a Lexus dealer and taking delivery of their vehicle is now back to acceptable levels on models that represent more than 70 per cent of our volume. By acceptable I’m talking two to four months,” he said.
“Those two to four months vehicles are UX, ES, NX petrol, RZ, RX350 and RX350 hybrid. By the middle of this year, we expect the same two to four months to apply to almost 90 per cent of our sales mix.”
The remaining 10 per cent with extended wait times are the LX SUV and the NX450h plug-in hybrid. Lexus still hasn’t opened the order books on NX plug-in hybrid again due to an extended backlog.
Lexus LX
In 2023, Lexus expected to receive around 300 or 400 examples of the LX to deliver outstanding orders, but ended up receiving close to 1000 units.
While the backlog is clearing gradually, the extended wait times remain.
MORE: Everything Lexus UX • NX • RX • LX • RZ • ES • LS • LC
