Lexus is bringing the ES saloon to Europe next January, likely to replace the similarly-sized GS and offered only with a hybrid drivetrain in the UK.

The ES will be available with a hybrid drivetrain in the UK.

The ES is already a familiar nameplate in other markets, but has never been available in Western European markets. In its seventh generation, it moves to a front-wheel drive platform and increases in size compared to its predecessor, positioning it beneath the IS and LS in the Lexus line-up – a niche which is currently filled by the rear-wheel drive GS executive saloon.

Lexus said the ES will be a big part of its ambition to reach 100,000 sales across Europe by 2020; UK customers will be offered a single drivetrain – the 213hp 2.5-litre petrol-hybrid 300h – matching 98.8% of the brand’s 12,671 units sold here last year which were hybrids. This is said to have been re-tuned to drive more like a standard petrol engine, while offering 60.1mpg fuel economy.

FIND OUT MORE: To discover how Lexus’s hybrid range could fit your fleet, visit the company’s stand at The Fleet Show 2018. Click here to register for free.