The all-electric Lexus RZ gets an 11.6% price drop as competition heats up.
The Lexus RZ 450e debuted about 9 months ago in Malaysia for RM429,888. Within a year, this Japanese fully-imported electric vehicle is being discounted at the dealer level by almost 12%. We came across promotions from the Facebook page of Lexus Sungai Besi showing discounts of up to RM50,000 for this car. The same showroom is also offering rebates of up to RM35,000 on the Lexus LBX hybrid and up to RM25,000 off the Lexus NX.
The discount on the NX is pretty conservative, equating to about 6.4-6.74%. That being said, the discount on the LBX hybrid is very generous, something like 13-14.6%, which is proportionately higher than the discount offered on the all-electric RZ.
Also worth noting is that the pricing of the RZ is purely set by the manufacturer while the petrol and hybrid models are subject to large excise duties and import taxes.
About the Lexus RZ
The Lexus RZ 450e has a dual motor all-wheel drive set-up with 313PS and 435Nm of torque available. It goes from 0-100km/h in 5.3 seconds and has a top speed of 160km/h. Charging speeds are 11kW AC and 150kW DC. Design is a highlight of this model with Tsuyasumi design details on the interior. The vehicle features a 13-speaker Mark Levinson speaker system, a 14.1″ touchscreen, a panoramic view monitor. You get a 5-year/unlimited mileage warranty on the vehicle with an 8-year/unlimited mileage warranty on the battery, which can be extended by a further 2 years. Colour choices include Aether Metallic, Sonic Copper, Sonic Chrome, Graphic Black Glass Flake, Sonic Quartz and Sonic Iridium.
Commentary
Electric vehicles have created a paradigm shift in the way premium carmakers have to market their vehicles. Traditionally, customers were prepared to spend 100% more on a premium branded vehicle versus its mass market equivalent for the sake of speed, quietness, efficiency, design and more. Now, an electric vehicle from a relatively unknown Chinese manufaturer can outperform on all these aspects for half the price. And when the premium marques sell EVs of their own, they end up missing the pricing mark considerably.
