New Lexus ES will be offered as hybrid and EV

SHOW STAR Lexus takes multi-fuel approach for its next-generation BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E-Class rival

- Richard Ingram

THE all-new Lexus ES has been revealed at the 2025 Shanghai Auto Show, and it will be available as a hybrid and, in a first for the model, as an EV. The firm says it delivers a “clear step up in performance, refinement, comfort and luxury” and the first cars should arrive in Europe in spring 2026.

Three versions will be offered in the UK, starting with the ES 300h hybrid. It has a bigger high-voltage battery than the current model, linked to Lexus’s familiar 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and electric motor. The combined power output is 198bhp, but no performance figures have been confirmed. Both front and all-wheel-drive variants will be available.

Above the ES 300h sit two electric ES variants. The base, single-motor, front-wheel-drive ES 350e produces 221bhp, but again no performance stats have been revealed. The range-topping ES 500e gets two electric motors for a combined 338bhp and DIRECT4 all-wheel drive. We don’t have information on either car’s range or charging capabilities yet.