Lexus has recently unveiled its new product GS300h in Europe. The newly disclosed car is a hybrid, as Lexus officials confirm.
Richard Balshaw, Lexus UK director, affirmed that 97% of all Lexus sold in the UK next year are expected to be hybrids.
The GS300h’s deputy chief engineer, Yukihiro Kito, also confirmed that the return of diesel-powered Lexus vehicles is unexpected to happen in the near future—if at all.
According to Kito-san, diesel just does not make sense for Lexus given the markets the company is chiefly competitive in, which is to say the USA and Asia.
In the UK and Europe, luxury sales are dominated by turbodiesels. New models such as the GS300h—and smaller IS300h—come in. Combining a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor and battery pack, these now offer CO2 emissions that are directly comparable with their diesel rivals.
In fact, in the example of the GS300h, Lexus believes the petrol-electric hybrid solution is better than the traditional diesel approach, claiming more power (223hp in this case) with lower CO2 (as little as 109g/km).
With pricing starting at just under £31,495, company car drivers can potentially save up to £4,300 in Benefit-in-Kind tax by going down the hybrid route. Regular road tax is just £20 a year.
