Lexus RX 450h, ES 300h and LX 450d launch Lexus in to the car market in India

Lexus has launched in to India, with an initial offering of the RX 450h, ES 300h and LX 450d, to be joined by more models next year.

India is a vast country with a vast population and vast potential for car makers, with car sales just 10 per cent of that other vastly populous country two doors along – China.

With rising affluence in India, premium car makers are starting to enjoy sales which are a bit more than a novelty, with Jaguar Land Rover seeing sales up ten fold since they were bought by Tata, and others – like BMW and Mercedes – keen to cash in on India’s remarkable growth.

That explains why Lexus – purveyors of posh and appealing upmarket Toyotas – has decided they can wait no longer to dip a toe in India’s car market, so have today launched in the sub-continent.

Lexus initially have a presence in Bangalore, Gurgaon, Mumbai and New Delhi with plans for more – and service facilities – to come.

Initially Lexus will be offering a trio of models, with the very good Lexus RX 450h SUV, the Lexus LX 450d – the not quite as good, very big, diesel-engined Lexus SUV based on the indestructible Land Cruiser – and the Lexus ES 300h, perhaps the least appealing of the three – a FWD, Toyota Camry/Avalon in disguise.

Of the three, the RX 450h is the only one familiar to UK car buyers, probably because the other two would be unlikely to float premium buyers’ boats here. But they could suite the needs and tastes of the rising middle class in India.

It’ll be interesting to see how Lexus does in India, but additional plans for the new LS 500h to be sold next year does illustrate they expect to be in for the long haul.