Lexus is one of the most aspirational brands in India, with cars that have captured the imagination as the only Japanese competition to the big European luxury marques in the country. In a bit of good news, evo India has learnt that Lexus is launching new cars in India by the end of this year concurrently with their global launches, of which the UK launches are important as they are the other big right-hand-drive market in the world. From our conversation with Lexus President Naveen Soni, it can be speculated that the car that will be launched in India will be their flagship SUV, the Lexus LX 600.
The Lexus LX 600 is yet to be launched in the UK, and so it is within the realms of reason that the car will be launched in India at the same time as in the UK market. The top of the line LX 600 is based on the Toyota Land Cruiser, one of the most reliable and capable SUVs on sale in the world. It comes powered by a twin-turbocharged V6 petrol engine that produces 409bhp of power and 450Nm of torque. The power is put onto the road via a 10-speed direct-shift automatic gearbox and Adaptive Variable Suspension that soak up everything from bumps to the Sahara desert. It has six terrain modes as well as a full time four-wheel-drive system with a full limited slip differential. Suffice to say, this SUV will be more than capable of handling anything that Indian roads have to throw at it.
On the sidelines of the launch of the Lexus NX350h, we spoke to Naveen Soni, President of Lexus India, about new launches in the country this year. This is what he had to say:
"We are looking at various options to delight our customers, but by the middle of this year we should be able to come up with a concrete idea. Somewhere around the end of the year the global launches are happening so we are raising our hands too to secure our cars for that period."
The SUV competes with the Range Rover, Mercedes-Maybach GLS and the BMW X7. This should come as very exciting news to all Indian car enthusiasts, whether you are an off-roader, luxury customer or a JDM fan. Be sure to stay tuned to evo India for updates from the world of cars!