Lexus banks on hybrids despite looming 2030 ICE ban

As for the LBX, product manager Bart Eelen told journalists that “over 50% of EV running is what we expect” and its CO2 emissions are likely to be “comfortably below 120g/km”.

Tripospitis also pointed to the strong residual values of non-EVs in markets with a high ratio of electrification as reason not to be concerned.

He said: “If I give you an example, in Norway, which is the most electrified market in the world, the used car value of non-EVs is very high, although the market is 85% EV already. And that at least tells me that I didn’t understand better the impact of the mandate in the UK for the used car market. 

“I can have an opinion: they’re selling very well at a good price because the supply is not so high, so people who want to buy a used non-EV car, maybe they find it and they pay good money for it.

“So for new car sales in the coming years, I think the UK is an important market for us, and I hope they can sell a lot of this car. Five or six years down the road, let’s see. 

“In the classical Lexus way, we study a lot and we anticipate things. So you should expect my colleagues from Lexus UK [to] analyse, and then we make assumptions of the future market based on the decisions of the government, our character and our stances to it. If this is given, then there will be countermeasures over the strategies about it.

“This will happen in every market, and this will play its role. I hope there will be either a second-hand or first-hand role for the [LBX], but I think we’re not there yet. There’s a few more years to go.”