Lexus NX hybrid ETAs now stretch deep into 2023 as buyers lean away from combustion

It’s fair to say the 2022 Lexus NX medium SUV has hit the ground running.

Having launched locally in February, the NX is a box-fresh model from the ground up, adopting the still-warm TNGA platform, introducing new-generation infotainment suite from Lexus, and bringing to market the brand’s first production plug-in hybrid vehicle.

And it’s certainly been popular. In March, its first full month on sale, the NX was the most popular premium vehicle in the country with 474 sales. Not just the most popular premium mid-size SUV, mind you, but the most popular premium vehicle overall.

Granted, combining Mercedes-Benz GLC wagon (458 sales) with GLC coupe sales (177 sales) sees that nameplate leap above the NX, but it’s nevertheless a satisfying result for a marque that often trails its rivals by a long way.

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However, things could be better. According to Lexus’ local chief, lead times for the NX have already blown out to six months for variants that are purely combustion-powered, while waiting times for NX hybrids – including the NX 450h+ plug-in – now stretch beyond a full year. Ordering an NX hybrid now will likely result in a delivery time approaching mid-2023.

“NX started really, really well. When that car was coming, I knew it was going to be very strong for us, it’s bringing new buyers to Lexus as well,” said Lexus Australia chief executive John Pappas.

“We’ve had some challenges with NX in the first quarter on production. In March it was the number-one selling model in luxury [segment], but we’ve had a lot of cuts on NX in terms of production that have impacted us,” he said.

“With those cuts the petrol models are up to six months in lead times, but the NX hybrid is now reaching twelve-months plus, so that’s a challenge.”

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It’s largely a familiar story – semiconductor chip shortages and production interruptions from viral outbreaks continue to limit output at Lexus plants, and a just-announced stoppage will put further constraints on NX, LS and UX production – but the arrival of the NX also happened to coincide with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has led to a rush on fuel-efficient vehicles as the price of petrol shot up.

Ergo, NX hybrid inventory was quickly spoken for.

“With fuel prices and everything going on there, the NX plug-in hybrid and [regular] hybrid are both doing really, really well from an order intake point of view, and with fuel prices, obviously, everyone is trying to save a buck with their fuel bill, and what a great powertrain to do that,” Pappas explained.

It’s not just the NX that’s exceeding expectations at Lexus. The UX 300e, which was launched in November last year, has already racked up over 130 orders since it arrived.

A modest number for a five-month period, sure, but considering Lexus product planners only expected it to sell in that volume over the space of a year, it’s clear that demand for battery-enhanced Lexus models is outpacing the estimates of experts.

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Such trends bode well for Lexus Australia’s long-term plans. The company aims to increase the showroom share of electrified product from its current figure of 40 per cent to 80 per cent by 2025, meaning four out of every five Lexus models offered in this country will either be a conventional parallel hybrid, a plug-in hybrid, or fully-electric.

It’s well on the way to that goal. Almost every model it sells – bar the LX offroader and LC Convertible – are already available with a hybrid option.

By 2035, Lexus expects that its entire global lineup will be made up of battery-powered electric vehicles. Cars like the UX 300e, NX 450h+ and the about-to-be-unveiled RZ 450e are the tip of that spear.