Lexus Thinks The First ES EV Will Steal Tesla Customers

The 2026 Lexus ES is a unique vehicle, and not just because of its funky new styling or radically different interior. This is the first Lexus vehicle to be offered as both a hybrid (gasoline plus electric motors) and a battery electric vehicle (BEV). Lexus is far from the first company to employ a strategy like this – just look at the BMW 4, 5, and 7 Series lineups – but it is a unique way to cater to new buyers while also pleasing brand loyalists.

CarBuzz wanted to learn more about the decision to offer the 2026 ES with two vastly different powertrains, so we sat down to speak with a Lexus marketing manager about how the Japanese automaker plans to sell this new model to new and existing customers.

Giving Customers Choice

Toyota and Lexus believe in customer choice, which is why both brands currently offer gasoline, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles. Aono said it’s “too early” to speak about a potential sales split between the ES hybrid and EV, but says it is “up to the consumer” and based heavily on external environmental factors such as charging infrastructure. She also pointed out that customers are slowly but surely getting more comfortable with alternative powertrains.

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“It took years [for customers] to even understand the difference between a hybrid and a PHEV. But now information is so available. I would say ‘thanks’ to Tesla because a lot of consumers have now already experienced an EV, and the benefits,” she detailed. “We want to offer the option to the consumer; when they come to the Lexus dealer, the salesperson can show them the EV after they look at the hybrid. They have a choice to pick within the Lexus brand without going to a competitor.”

Aono would not confirm if we might see a similar approach with future Lexus products, but said, “I won’t be surprised if the consumer starts seeing more options.”

Some Big Changes For The ES

Aside from the obvious addition of an EV and the dropping of the gas-only powertrain, there are plenty of important changes and new features coming to the 2026 ES, which are targeted at keeping existing buyers while also grabbing new ones. “The current generation ES buyers are skewed a little older,” Aono admitted. “But they appreciate how a Lexus treats them. That’s why they have been loyalists for years.”

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Older customers will likely appreciate that the 2026 ES is 61.2 inches tall as a hybrid and 61.4 inches in EV guise, a more-than-four-inch increase over the previous generation, aiding ingress and egress. The ES 350e will also be available with an Executive Package, which adds a recliner on the rear passenger seat (like a Lexus LS or LX).

The 2026 ES will also debut a new Lexus Interface multimedia system, a version of which will also be found in the 2026 Toyota RAV4. This system lives on a 14-inch tablet-style touchscreen that clearly looks inspired by Tesla. Aono said customers now expect a big screen in cars, which is why the ES starts off with such a big one. Customers in China will even be able to have a second screen in front of the passenger, though Aono confirmed it will not be available in the US market. “That doesn’t limit us that it will never be introduced in the US, it’s just at launch time, it will not,” she said.