After a delay of many years, Toyota is finally launching the Lexus brand in India and the company will launch two models – ES and RX.
The Lexus brand was supposed to be launched in India many years back but that never happened due to our high taxes which are levied on imported cars. However, Toyota is now completely geared up to launch Lexus in India and the premium company will be introduced here in 2016 itself. The launch will take place in the second half of the year and the RX and ES models will be the first ones to be launched over here.
Both the cars will be brought down from Japan as CKD units and they will be assembled at Toyota’s plant in Karnataka. The Japanese automaker is reportedly spending close to Rs. 300 crores to set up the new assembly section. The Lexus ES is a premium sedan and it comes powered by a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine belting out 274 HP of power and 346 Nm of torque and mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. The other engine on offer is actually a hybrid system called the Lexus Hybrid Drive that combines a 2.5-litre petrol engine and an electric motor with a total power output of 202 HP. This trim gets a CVT gearbox.
The Lexus RX is an SUV and it went on sale in Japan just a couple of months back. It comes in three variants – RX 350, RX 450h and RX 200t. The RX 200t comes with a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine producing 235 HP of power and 350 Nm of torque, mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. The RX 350 comes with a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine pumping out 296 HP of power and 370 Nm of torque, mated to an 8-speed auto box.
The RX 450h comes with the Lexus Hybrid Drive which has a total power output of 308 HP. It has a 3.5-litre diesel engine and two electric motors, one at the front churning out 165 HP and one at the rear producing 67 HP. The hybrid trim comes with a CVT gearbox. Toyota will be showcasing these Lexus products at the 2016 Auto Expo while the launch will take place later in the year.
Source – ETAuto.com