The days of the dependable but dull Lexus ES midsize sedan are well and truly over, as a new eighth-generation model boasting a striking design and the first fully electric powertrains arrives for the 2026 model year. It was first shown a year ago, and while Lexus hasn’t confirmed when it will appear in showrooms, that moment can’t be far off, as the automaker has just announced pricing.Like the radical new styling, Lexus’s pricing strategy for the ES also treads a different path. The 2026 Lexus ES carries a starting price of $48,795. That's for the ES 350e Premium, an electric vehicle. If you want an internal-combustion engine, you’ll need to opt for a hybrid, the cheapest of which starts at $50,995, in this case the ES 350h Premium. Gas-only trims are no longer planned. Prices Are Up LexusThe new starting price is a big jump over what buyers currently pay for the 2025 ES, which starts at $43,215. That’s a difference of $5,580. While some of that increase can be attributed to the base ES now being an EV rather than a gas-powered trim, even the hybrids carry a noticeably higher price than before. The ES 350h Premium is comparable to the 2025 model’s ES 300h trim, which starts at $44,615, a difference of $6,380.The most affordable trims, electric or hybrid, come standard with front-wheel drive. Adding all-wheel drive to the base ES 350h Premium raises the starting price to $52,395. In the case of the electric ES, opting for AWD means stepping up to the ES 500e AWD Premium trim, which comes standard with a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system. That version starts at $51,795.The ES 350h's hybrid powertrain uses Toyota's sixth-generation hybrid technology and a 2.5-liter inline-4 as its internal-combustion component. It's rated at a peak 244 horsepower, for both FWD and AWD versions. The ES 350e features a single electric motor at the front axle generating a peak 221 hp while the ES 500e AWD adds another motor at the rear axle, generating a combined 338 hp. Toyota's range estimates for the EV come in at 300 miles for the ES 350e and 250 miles for the ES 500e AWD, in both cases with 19-inch wheels.LexusFinal specifications will be announced closer to launch, but Lexus has already confirmed several standard features, including a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, 14-inch infotainment touchscreen, voice assist, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Interior space also grows thanks to an overall length that’s up 6.5 inches compared with the outgoing ES, along with a wheelbase stretched by 3.0 inches.The seating position has been raised to make ingress and egress easier, and for the first time in North America, an Executive Package will be offered. It includes reclining rear seats with heating and ventilation, plus a passenger-side footrest. The package will be available on the ES 350e Luxury, though pricing has yet to be announced. No Longer Homegrown Lexus The 2026 ES will also mark a shift in where the sedan is built. Unlike the outgoing model, which is assembled in the US, the new generation will be produced in Japan. That means the end of ES production at Toyota’s Georgetown, Kentucky, plant, where roughly 440,000 examples have been built over the past decade.When ES assembly began in Georgetown in late 2015, it marked the first time Lexus produced a vehicle in the US, and it remained the brand’s only American-built model until the TX joined the Toyota Grand Highlander at Toyota’s Indiana plant three years ago. Taking the ES’s place in Kentucky will be a new fully electric Toyota Highlander due for the 2027 model year.Sources: Lexus
+2 others
