Lexus Australia expects to "well and truly exceed" the RZ's previous sales result, following a price cut of up to $42,000 despite specification upgrades – but don't expect it to set the charts alight.
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Lexus RZ sales are forecast to surge beyond the electric SUV's previous best year in Australia – 215 deliveries in 2024 – after up to $42,000 was cut from its list price.
However, Lexus does not expect the drastic price cut to increase RZ sales "exponentially", and says it will "test the market" to gauge demand for its updated EV.
On sale now, the updated RZ is $36,559 and $42,059 cheaper for carryover Luxury and Sports Luxury grades, while a new F Sport grade is the first production car sold in Australia with an aircraft-style steering 'yoke' control in place of a traditional steering wheel.
The significant price cuts are despite specification updates, including a larger battery capacity, improved driving range, more powerful electric motors, additional standard equipment, a faster maximum home wallbox charging speed, and increased braked towing capacity.
Lexus Australia chief executive Jack Hobbs said the brand expects to "well and truly exceed" 2024's result, the RZ's last full year on sale, "in the seven months remaining this year".
Just 41 examples of the RZ were reported as sold in Australia in 2025, due to the changeover to the updated model launched this month.
However, RZ sales are expected to remain modest, compared with other luxury SUVs, such as Lexus's own hybrid-dominated NX medium and RX large SUVs – along with more affordable electric models, including the Tesla Model Y and Zeekr 7X.
"I’m not so sure about exponentially," said Hobbs. "We think we can exceed that in the seven months to go, and it’ll be a good opportunity for us to test the market and see how much desire there is out there."
The RZ will also face competition from a range of new-generation electric luxury SUVs when they arrive in Australia, including the BMW iX3, Mercedes-Benz GLC EV and Volvo EX60, which offer up to 805km of WLTP driving range compared with 460km for the Lexus.
Priced from $84,500 before on-road costs, the 2026 Lexus RZ is now under the current Luxury Car Tax (LCT) threshold for zero-emission vehicles, making it eligible for the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exemption for novated lease customers.
The Toyota bZ4X-based electric SUV also undercuts the Australian launch prices of the EX60 (from $86,990) and iX3 (from $109,900) – along with the existing Audi Q6 e-tron (from $99,900) – while details for the GLC EV are yet to be confirmed.
"The price repositioning we think does meet the market needs and will allow more of our customers to move into a BEV [battery electric vehicle], which is great," Hobbs said.
"Of course, every pure BEV is very good for the credits on NVES [New Vehicle Efficiency Standard] as well. We're very happy to sell every [RZ] we can."
"There are a number of factors that have gone into the repositioning of the price. There's been some significant technological advances, particularly in battery manufacturing.
"There's also been some shifts in the marketplace that have allowed us to bring this model in at a price which we think delivers exceptional value without compromising the technology or the craftsmanship. I think this is a really good position for our customers.
"Obviously, we're in a very competitive market, and we need to make sure we continuously serve the market and make sure our offerings are fit for purpose in that market, and as you know, the technology is evolving rapidly, which means those production efficiencies allow us to reduce cost."
Compared with the outgoing RZ – launched in Australia in 2023 at $123,000 – the updated model does not include the Lexus Encore Platinum Electrified ownership program, instead reverting to the same Encore membership as the LBX, UX, NX, RX, GX and ES.
Those additional benefits included standard installation of a home wallbox charger, three years of free charging on the Chargefox public network, valet parking, airport lounge access, and temporary access to other Lexus models.
"We're always looking at the Encore offering and trying to tailor that, and I guess in the spirit of Kaizen [continuous improvement], trying to see how that best suits the customer," Hobbs said.
"The original Encore Electrified was at the early adopter stage, where people didn't necessarily have a home charging device.
"Now, a couple of years later, we're seeing that people are either changing from an EV into another EV, or maybe they don't charge at home – they charge at work or in other places."
The RZ550e F Sport, available from $105,000, includes Australia's first 'yoke' steering control as standard, connected to a steer-by-wire system that replaces the physical connection between the steering wheel and the front wheels with an electronic link.
Steer-by-wire technology reduces hand-over-hand movement when turning from centre to full left or right lock, requiring about 200 degrees of movement.
The F Sport also introduces a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N-style manual drive mode with eight simulated gears.
Lexus Australia product planning and development manager Julian Meldrum said there were no regulatory hurdles to bring the new RZ's steering yoke control to Australia, though it skipped an earlier iteration.
"There was an earlier iteration of that, which we didn't end up launching, and there was a revisit globally into global regulation," Meldrum said.
"On our side, of course, we comply with all regulations. I don't know that there were any specific ones for our market, but I guess the main point being that we'll always strive to comply, and if there were [new] regulations brought in, we would understand how they impact us and what we can offer to the customers."
A limited-edition Lexus RZ600e F Sport Performance is due in Australia later this year in "extremely limited" quantities, with pricing yet to be confirmed.
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Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.
