Trademark Filing Could Signal Fully Electric Lexus UX300e

At the recent Los Angeles Auto Show, Toyota told us that its dealers had yet to put pressure on the automaker to give them an EV and that it’s customers had yet to express much interest in buying one.

Toyota may be in no rush to bring a battery electric vehicle to market, but while the budget brand seems perfectly content with its growing lineup of hybrids and plug-ins, the luxury-minded folks over at Lexus appear to have greater ambitions.

SEE ALSO: Toyota: We Don’t Have a Business Case to Make EVs

AutoGuide has dug up a trademark application filed by Toyota with the European Intellectual Property Office for ‘UX300e’. The Lexus naming scheme uses lowercase ‘h’ to denote hybrid vehicles, so this filing appears to point to the eventual arrival of a fully electric Lexus UX300e crossover.

Automakers will sometimes file trademarks in order to prevent another company from using a desired name, but ‘UX300e’ is very specific, which makes us think that Lexus intends to actually use it on a production vehicle.

The Lexus LF-1 Limitless concept, which was shown at from last year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit, was a small crossover that Lexus said could have a hybrid, plug-in or even all electric powertrain. Perhaps the LF-1 was Lexus’ way of telling us that a UX-based electric crossover was coming down the pipe.

SEE ALSO: Lexus LF-1 Limitless Concept Video, 5 Things You Need to Know

It’s hard to say if the electric Lexus UX300e will ever see the light of day, but a battery electric vehicle from Toyota’s luxury brand is inevitable. Toyota may not be able to get its budget-minded customers into EVs just yet, but it can probably upsell wealthier Lexus buyers into a pricy electric powertrain rather easily.

With the New Year approaching fast, we may even see the Lexus UX300e turn up sometime next year. We’d say a debut at the 2019 Geneva International Motor Show or 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show is very plausible. Don’t expect the UX300e to be offered in North America, though. Rumors indicate Lexus’ first EV will be sold in Europe and Asia only.

ALSO SEE: Where is Lexus Made?

Discuss this story on our Lexus UX Forum.