The long-awaited announcement to expand Lexus Australia’s plug-in hybrid (PHEV) range is coming soon, following the much-delayed arrival of new and current models.
Orders for the NX450h+ were suspended in March 2023 and Lexus has only been taking expressions of interest ever since – with orders for the model now stretching into 2025 as a result of tight supply.
On the back of that, Lexus Australia CEO John Pappas told CarExpert in March this year that his brand was taking a more cautious approach to introducing a PHEV version of its larger RX.
Now it appears that a plug-in hybrid powertrain rebirth could soon be on the way for Lexus in Australia, but we’ll have to wait until early 2025 for confirmation.
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Lexus RX450h+
The Toyota-owned premium Japanese brand has been eyeing the reopening of orders for the NX450h+ for more than eight months, but back in March there were suggestions the local order book could reopen before the end of this year.
As for the RX PHEV, Mr Pappas previously told CarExpert that Lexus didn’t want a repeat of the NX situation, which could have included pausing orders and resulted in “customers waiting for years on product”.
Now, a Lexus Australia spokesperson says the brand is “close” to a decision on the release of the RX PHEV – despite previous reports suggesting it would be in showrooms by early 2025.
“We’re close to making a decision on the plug-in version of the RX,” they said
“We hope to have more to say to that early in the new year, but the plan is to introduce that car before the end of 2025.”
NX450h+
The reopening of local orders for the NX PHEV is currently less clear-cut, as Australia is now fast approaching the original year-end deadline for the model to reappear on shelves.
The spokesperson says it’s still under consideration, with a decision to come come at the same time as as the RX announcement.
“That is part of our overall plug-in hybrid evaluation plan, and we’re just going through that right now,” they said.
“Any news on that will be shared about the time of us sharing information on RX plug-in hybrid, but I would hope that that wouldn’t be too far away.”
Before the NX450h+ was taken off sale in 2023 it ranked as the 10th best-selling PHEV in Australia, outselling the likes of the Audi Q5 55 TFSI e, Range Rover Sport P460e, and Peugeot 3008 GT Sport PHEV.
In that year, Lexus delivered 415 examples of the NX450h+, accounting for just six per cent of total NX deliveries.
The all-wheel drive SUV was the first PHEV the Japanese carmaker had offered in Australia. It’s still only “available” in a single fully loaded F Sport trim that costs $95,900 before on-road costs.
It’s powered by a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine supported by two electric motors, an 18.1kWh lithium-ion battery pack and an electronic continuously variable transmission (eCVT).
Total system output is 227kW of power, also making it the most powerful variant in the current lineup.
RX450h+
The current-generation Lexus RX, meanwhile, was first unveiled in 2022, and arrived here in early 2023. The large five-seat SUV is currently offered locally with a range of petrol and hybrid powertrains.
A plug-in hybrid RX450h+ is currently offered in other markets, including the USA. It’s powered by the same 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with two electric motors and an 18.1kWh lithium-ion battery pack, as seen in the NX.
Total system output for the US-specification RX450h+ is 205kW.
Lexus claims the US-spec RX450h+ has an electric-only range of 59km, a figure derived from EPA testing.
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