Lexus Australia is launching a highly appealing ownership package alongside its first all-electric car, the UX300e crossover, which arrives in showrooms this month.
The company says it’s “renewing the benchmarks for BEV ownership in Australia”, and is talking to people who’ve been “eagerly awaiting a Lexus standard of customer care and owner benefits for fully electric vehicles”.
First the Japanese luxury brand will supply UX300e buyers with a free ABB-branded single phase 7kW home AC wallbox charger, sold and fitted by local company JetCharge with a six-year warranty.
A home wallbox is an essential item for overnight recharging and is usually easily wired into your home. Fitted, a unit costs around $1500 to $2000, and in the case of the circa 360km driving-range (claimed) UX300e charges you up in 6.5 hours.
The free wallbox is a fairly simple unit. UX300e owners have the option to upgrade to a partnered home charger featuring a touch-display, Wi-Fi and Ethernet compatibility, smartphone app connectivity, and dynamic load management, though the cost has yet to be announced.
Lexus will give UX300e owners free use of the Chargefox (affiliated with JetCharge) high-speed DC charging network too, billed Australia’s largest with around 770 stations all powered by renewable energy.
What else? The Lexus UX300e joins the Lexus LX, LC and LS flagships with a three-year membership to its top-tier Encore Platinum owner benefits program.
For one thing this means Lexus on Demand, an app-based program in which members can borrow another Lexus four times in their membership period, and for up to eight days at a time. That’s 32 days in a larger, longer-range Lexus over holidays for example.
Encore Platinum members can book their other Lexus for collection at Auckland and Queenstown in New Zealand, or Qantas valet at Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth airports. They can also collect the borrowed Lexus from company dealerships.
On the flip-side of the equation, the UX 300e will also be added as an available Lexus on Demand vehicle, ensuring other Encore Platinum members are able to borrow a Lexus EV. Getting bums on seats is a key to driving EV take-up…
Members will also be able to take their UX300e to participating Westfield shopping centres nationwide or the Chadstone shopping centre in Melbourne, where they can use free valet parking on eight occasions in their membership period.
There is no need to book – just drive in and present the Lexus App showing the valet parking passes remaining.
The UX300e also comes with five years of capped-price servicing, each visit pegged at $295. As with every Lexus, it can be collected from an owner’s home or work, with a loan vehicle delivered to their door.
Lexus Encore members also access various event experiences for three years, including golf days, dinners, track events and “money-can’t-buy experiences with ambassadors”.
These announcements will be complemented by a further ownership element set to be announced alongside pricing at the launch of the Lexus UX 300e later this month, the company claims. There’s no real detail yet on SOTA updates.
Lexus Australia Chief Executive Scott Thompson said the brand was focused on delivering leading ownership solutions for the launch of the first Lexus BEV.
“Lexus is renowned for leading ownership and guided by the Japanese hospitality art of omotenashi to ensure that we anticipate customer needs, appreciate all the finer details and develop authentic relationships with them,” Mr Thompson said.
“Inspired by our unique heritage and those key principles, we listened closely to Lexus customers and committed to taking our Encore Platinum owner benefits program to the next level for the UX 300e – and there is still more to come.”
MORE: 2022 Lexus UX300e electric car detailed
MORE: Lexus Encore Platinum promises ‘one of a kind’ owner benefits
