Lexus will release its new RZ450e fully-electric midsize SUV in Australia in May 2023, but it is still working on locking in final pricing and specifications for the model with its Japan headquarters.
Quick summary of this story
- Lexus RZ electric midsize SUV will be released in Australia in May 2023
- Pricing likely to sit between two popular RX hybrid engines
- Dual-motor AWD RZ has 230kW power and 400km range
Lexus Australia chief executive John Pappas was able to give Chasing Cars readers some guidance about where the price of the electric RZ model will probably fall when the car is released in three months time – at least in relation to the new-gen RX hybrid SUV model.
The RZ will be released in May, and we have an early idea of what it might cost in Australia
“We haven’t gone out yet to position that car,” Pappas said. “But I would expect it to be between the RX500h and the RX350h hybrid – in there.
“I make it clear that is not confirmed. We haven’t confirmed where it sits. BUt that is where we should probably expect [RZ pricing] to go.”
Pappas referred to the two hybrid engines of the new-generation Lexus RX large SUV that launched in Australia this week.
A prototype version of the RZ we drove in 2022 was fitted with this yoke steering wheel
The RX500h is the flagship turbo-hybrid model of the new RX range and it is priced at $126,000 before on-road costs in Australia.
At the lower end, the RX350h is a traditional non-turbo petrol-electric hybrid priced between $87,500 and $115,800 before on-road costs.
As a result, we’d hazard a guess that the RZ450e will lob around the $110,000 list price level when it reaches Australian shores in May.
We’d expect the RZ450e to be priced at around $110,000, but a lower-spec could cost $100K
Late in 2022, we reviewed a prototype version of the RZ450e at a private test track and found its handling likeable.
A further complication is that Lexus might choose to offer the RZ in two or three trim grades with different price points. A two-grade strategy might see the vehicle priced at, perhaps, $99,900 and $109,900.
What is known is that the RZ will launch with just one powertrain in Australia, as it has globally. Known as the RZ450e, the first version of the RZ has dual-motor AWD and produces 230kW of power.
The RZ will arrive first in dual-motor AWD form, but an FWD model could follow later
Range is pegged at about 400km on the fairly accurate WLTP standard that is used in Europe. Chasing Cars will conduct its own independent highway range and charging test once the Genesis GV60 and BMW iX3 rival is released in Australia in May 2023.
Later, Lexus might choose to release a single-motor front-wheel drive version of the RZ, as has been the case for the model’s platform-sharing cousins – the Toyota BZ4X and Subaru Solterra.