Lexus UX production set to end, replacement plans unclear – report

Production of the Lexus UX will reportedly end early next year, and it's unclear what will replace the small luxury SUV.

Japanese outlet Creative Trend reports production will end in February 2027, with the recently revealed Shining Essence special edition serving as a final edition for the compact crossover, which entered production in 2018.

It's not the first time the UX had been reported to be on the chopping block, with Japanese newspaper Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun reporting last year that production would end before the end of the 2025 fiscal year on March 31, 2026.

Looking for your next car? We'll help you research and compare so you choose with confidence.

Lexus has yet to announce a successor to the UX, which slots between the LBX and NX crossover SUVs in the Japanese brand's lineup, though it would seem unlikely that Toyota's premium marque would exit such a popular segment.

It started production of the smaller LBX late in 2023, giving Lexus a significantly smaller entry-level SUV offering than other luxury brands such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz, as well as a more direct rival for the Audi Q2 which recently exited production.

While the UX is closely related to the Toyota Corolla Cross, the LBX is around 300mm shorter than its showroom-mate at 4190mm long, and owes more to the Yaris Cross.

Lexus says it has sold approximately 400,000 examples of the UX in over 80 countries and regions, as at the end of June 2026.

It ended production of the petrol-powered UX200 in 2023, before the electric UX300e was axed in 2025. That left just the UX300h hybrid.

The UX's best sales year in Australia was 2023, when Lexus delivered 2468 examples locally. To the end of June, Lexus Australia has delivered 509 UXs this year, down 4.1 per cent on the same period last year.

That puts it narrowly ahead of the LBX (473, down 61.3 per cent) but sees the UX outsold by around two-to-one by the Audi Q3 (1092, down 32.7 per cent), almost four-to-one by the Mercedes-Benz GLA (1908, up 14.5 per cent), and over five-to-one by the BMW X1/iX1 (2669, down 0.8 per cent).

The UX300h is the only traditional hybrid model in its segment, which is otherwise host to numerous petrol, electric, and plug-in hybrid vehicles. It starts at $55,370 before on-road costs, and features a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol-electric powertrain with either front- or all-wheel drive.

The LBX range opens at $47,320 plus on-roads and features a less powerful 1.5-litre three-cylinder hybrid powertrain.

Though it hasn't been labelled as a final edition, the UX300h Shining Essence features a raft of aesthetic tweaks.

These include light blue paint like that seen on the new-generation ES sedan, plus a silver-finish grille, body-colour wheel-arch moldings, 18-inch aluminium wheels, and 'layered grid' interior inlays.

It's unclear whether this special edition will come to Australia.

MORE: Explore the Lexus UX showroom