7 hours ago
7
Lexus' smallest performance car has attracted a queue around the block – albeit quite a small one.
Australian demand for what's effectively the luxury version of the Toyota GR Yaris – the Lexus LBX Morizo RR – has created a year-long waiting list, despite a drive-away price approaching $85,000.
Only about 100 examples are understood to have been allocated to the Australian market for the first 12 months of the LBX Morizo RR, launched in May, but even as the first cars arrived in showrooms, the list of orders was already longer.
"The LBX's latest addition, the Morizo edition, has literally sold out, and now we're trying to fight for stock," Lexus Australia CEO John Pappas told media.
"We've got a big backlog of customers that we're trying to get stock for, so we can try and reduce that lead time for them, but [it's] very popular and it's only been around a very short time.
"We've already pretty much taken up all our stock, and now we've already got a 12-month delay [order bank]."
It is not clear how many vehicles are allocated to Australia for the Morizo RR's second year of production, but it is not a high-volume vehicle globally, so stock is likely to be similarly limited.
Pappas said the nature of the vehicle – a specialised performance car not matched by rival brands – means customers are willing to wait.
"It's a real passion product," said the Lexus Australia boss, when asked how the brand is confident it can keep customers waiting that long.
"It's all about communication through the dealers. I'm big on the whole customer expectation side; communication and engagement with our dealers, and they're very good at it.
"We hold a lot of town halls [meetings] with our dealers very regularly; they're kept abreast as to what's going on, and then they can clearly communicate to the people that are waiting for an LBX Morizo.
"But you're right, they [customers] are very passionate about that sort of performance line. The feedback we've got on that car at the moment from the market is extremely positive."
The long waiting list is despite the automatic-only Morizo RR's price tag of $76,490 plus on-road costs, or $13,500 more than a Toyota GR Yaris GTS auto.
The list of rival small performance SUV-style vehicles is short; a Volkswagen T-Roc R starts at $64,990 plus on-roads, while a Mercedes-AMG GLA35 starts from $99,000 plus on-roads.
The Morizo RR uses a 206kW/390Nm version of the 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine debuted in the GR Yaris, detuned from 221kW/400Nm due to additional emissions controls.
It is matched with variable all-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission. A six-speed manual version sold in Japan is not offered in Australia.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
