2024 Lexus LM one step closer to Australian showrooms

The Lexus LM luxury people mover has received approval for sale in Australia by motor-vehicle regulators, less than six months before the seven-seat LM350h is due in showrooms.

The Lexus LM – a more luxurious version of the Toyota Alphard and Vellfire people movers sold in its home market of Japan – has been approved for Australian roads, ahead of its expected showroom arrival towards the end of 2023.

Documents published recently by the Department of Infrastructure show the Lexus LM has received approval for sale in Australia by motor-vehicle regulators, with the luxury people mover due to launch in the fourth quarter of 2023 (October to December) with the ‘LM350h’ variant.

The Lexus LM350h is fitted with seven seats – two up front, three in the middle and two in the rear – and will be powered by a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, paired with electric motors.

The petrol engine and electric motor combination is shared with the Lexus RX350h – producing 184kW in the SUV twin-under-the-skin – with drive delivered to either the front or all four wheels through a continuously-variable automatic transmission (CVT).

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Both 17-inch and 19-inch wheels have been approved for the Lexus LM, allowing the car-maker to allocate the two sizes across different grades of the people mover in Australia.

While not yet approved for Australian roads, Lexus has previously announced a four-seat LM500h is due in showrooms in the first quarter of 2024 (January to March).

As with the LM350h, the LM500h is expected to share its petrol engine and electric motor with the equivalent Lexus RX SUV.

The Lexus RX500h – the car-maker’s most powerful hybrid in Australia – combines a 2.4-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol engine with two electric motors, with total outputs of 273kW and 551Nm.

Drive is sent to all four wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission, capable of varying the split of power front to rear as required, from maximums of 100:0 (front to rear) to 20:80.

If this petrol engine and electric motor setup is used in the Lexus LM500h, it will become the most powerful people-mover in Australia, easily topping the Kia Carnival and Hyundai Staria twins which produce 216kW from a 3.5-litre V6.

Lexus has previously announced the LM people mover will be equipped with a full suite of advanced safety features, though it is yet to provide exact details.

Further details about the Lexus LM – such as Australian pricing and features – will be revealed closer to the luxury people mover’s launch later this year.

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