Japanese luxury carmaker Lexus India, on Wednesday, launched the new NX 350h in three trim levels - Exquisite, Luxury and F-Sport at INR 65 lakh INR 69.5 lakh and 71.6 lakh respectively.
The vehicle is powered by a 2.5L Atkinson cycle petrol engine producing 192hp. The engine is assisted by a self-charging hybrid system consisting of a set of e-motors on the front and rear axles taking the combined output to 244hp. The engine is mated to 6-speed e-CVT gearbox.
The exterior styling of the new model has been altered, with a larger ‘spindle’ grille, new bumpers, single-piece headlamps, and new LED tail lamps connected by a light bar.
The NX350h is the first product from the brand to feature the Tazuna concept for the interior, which means horse reins. With this design language, the company aims to help the driver to focus on driving: “hands on the wheel and eyes on the road”.
The interior of the SUV comes equipped with a 14-inch touchscreen, a digital instrument cluster, head-up display, digital key, digital inside rearview mirror, drive mode selectors, heated and ventilated front seats, automatic headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, sunroof, among others.
While on the safety side, it comes with eight airbags, lane change assist, lane-departure warning with steering assist, blind-spot monitor, vehicle stability control, tyre pressure monitoring system, traction control, ABS, EBD, front cross-traffic alert, 360-degree surround view, radar-based cruise control, to name a few.
Lexus commenced the booking for the vehicle from January onwards. At present, it claims to be completely sold out for the year with a waiting period of six months.
Naveen Soni, President, Lexus India, confirmed that the company is in talks with headquarters for an increased allocation of the product to India.
With the previous generation of the model, Lexus claims to have sold one million units of the SUV across 95 countries since its launch eight years ago.
In terms of increasing the dealership network, the company plans to extend its network of Guest Experience Centre to three cities, including Chandigarh, Chennai and Kochi, Maharaj Mukherjee, Executive Vice-President, Lexus India, said.
At present, the network consists of four such centres in cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore. With this expansion, the company aims at capturing 66% of the luxury car market, Soni added.