Lexus, a popular name in the international market, has been eyeing the Indian market for a while now. The automaker will officially enter the Indian market by end of first quarter in 2017. The automaker plans on inaugurating 4 dealerships in the country – 2 in Delhi and one each in Mumbai and Bengaluru. The automaker plans on marking its debut with the launch of the RX450h and the ES300h.
Reports indicate that in efforts to evoke customer interest towards the brand, the company will import more cars among popular sellers in the country. Initially, Lexus will be using Toyota’s service facility with a dedicated service bay for Lexus cars. Toyota dealers have been accepting bookings for Lexus vehicles a while ago and by the end of 2017, Lexus plans on introducing the LX450 diesel, LX570 petrol and the NX models in the country.
Under the hood, the entry-level Lexus ES300h is likely to be offered as an entry level model which will be powered by a 2.5-litre petrol engine mated to a CVT transmission. The Lexus RX450h will be powered by a 3.5-litre, V6 petrol motor engine with Toyota’s popular hybrid system with an e-CVT gearbox to generate 304bhp of power. The vehicle will be tweaked to suit Indian conditions. Post launch, the vehicle will compete against the likes of BMW X3 and Audi Q5. Additional details on the automaker’s future plans will be known in the coming days.