Lexus Australia is having its best sales year ever, with a record 14,048 vehicles sold from January-November 2023 – and there’s still a month to go.
Its sales success is attributed to a combination of competitive products and a post-purchase customer loyalty and retention program that remains largely unchallenged.
Having revised the Lexus Encore owners program in 2020, the brand has continued to refine and add to its offering and benefits over the last three and half years, now giving owners of all Lexus models certain privileges while upping the ante for buyers of ‘L-series’ models with Encore Platinum.
There are three tiers to Lexus Encore which covers all models purchased since January 2020.
| ENCORE | ENCORE PLATINUM | ELECTRIFIED | |
|---|---|---|---|
| MODELS | UX, NX, RX, ES | LM, LC, LS, LX | UX 300e, RZ |
| SERVICING | |||
| Capped-price servicing | 3 years (RX: 5 years) | 3 years (LC, LM: 5 years) | 5 years |
| Service loan cars | 3 years | 3 years | 5 years |
| Drive Care | 3 years | 3 years (LS: 10 years) | 5 years |
| BENEFITS | |||
| Offers | X | X | X |
| Ampol 5c discount | X | X | – |
| Events | X | X | X |
| PLATINUM BENEFITS | |||
| On Demand | – | 4 x in 3 years | 4 x in 3 years |
| Valet parking | – | 8 x in 3 years | 8 x in 3 years |
| Home charger installation | – | – | X |
| Charging cables | – | – | X |
| Complimentary charging with Chargefox |
– | – | 3 years |
Apart from the standard Lexus benefits like a loan car, capped-price servicing and roadside assistance (Drive Care), Lexus Encore offers include a list of venues whereby owners can get certain benefits akin to a loyalty program.
As an example, the Crown Towers in Melbourne will see Lexus Encore members receive a free upgrade (if available), free breakfast, complimentary airport transport (one way unless a Suite booking) plus late check out.
Another example is the Jackalope Hotel in the Mornington Peninsula which will offer a free room upgrade (subject to availability), free wine and free use of the hotel’s Lexus vehicle for drives around the area (15km radius).
Perhaps the most useful of the standard benefits is the flat 5 cent discount at Ampol that comes to all Lexus Encore members (bar electric models which will have no use for it).
Membership to DragonPass lounges at 863 airports around the world is also standard for all Lexus Encore members,. This is actually a huge benefit to those that fly internationally once or twice a year but not particularly with any single airline and therefore would have particular use for independent lounges. You can find the full list here.
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2024 Lexus LM 500h (L) and LM 350 (R)
Other standard features for Encore include 25 per cent off valet parking at the largest Westfield centres around the country.
On the Encore events side of things, Lexus says it will offer special dining and music events plus golf days and of course, drive days.
For those who have purchased one of Lexus’ more expensive models, like the LM, LC, LS or LX or one of the two electric models, the Platinum tier brings the Lexus ownership experience to a new level that its German rivals simply cannot match.
We found the most interesting of these benefits is what Lexus calls On Demand, which can probably be better named to indicate what it actually means, which is a free Lexus vehicle for up to eight days, four times over your three-year membership period.
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Lexus LS 500
That means you get access to the best car that Lexus has to offer for free, in NSW, QLD, SA, VIC, WA, Tasmania and even in New Zealand for 32 days in three years.
As an example, if for example you are going on holiday in New Zealand starting in Auckland or Queenstown, you can simply request a Lexus LC or LX for the snow (or another Lexus), which will be delivered for your use to the respective airport for pickup that you can use for free for eight days.
Those of us that have hired a car will know that is easily a saving of more than a few thousand for the eight-day hire, especially for the tier of vehicle Lexus will have on offer.
More importantly, given the On Demand benefit can be redeemed four times in three years, that is a great excuse to book multiple holidays and explore Australia or New Zealand during your three years of Encore Platinum membership.
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Lexus RZ 450e
As for those that opt for the electric UX 300e or RZ, Lexus will install a home charger with two free charging cables and also give owners free ‘fast’ and ‘ultra-rapid’ charging at all Chargefox stations for three years.
The likes of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have their own unique ownership programs depending on the model purchased, and upstart Genesis also has amazing servicing benefits where the car is even picked up from your own location, but Lexus’ On Demand feature is very unique in this segment and one many potential buyers are simply not aware of.
The launch of the new Lexus LM luxury people mover will come at a particularly great time for those looking to make use of the On Demand benefit, by booking in the roughly $170,000 vehicle for the family when going on holiday.
Are you a Lexus owner and have you used the Encore program? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.
