Concept for imminent mobility show in Tokyo a start-again for brand’s electric ambition.

THE striking large sedan Lexus is revealing fully in Japan soon seems likely to be a replacement for the flagship LS, but also previews a platform and technology core to a broader electric push that will figure in New Zealand planning.

Two images of the new car - a front-on (above) artfully lit and under a tantalisingly see-through sheet and another (below) showing a birds-eye of part of the bodywork - have been shared ahead of its full unveiling at the Japan Mobility Show, a first of its kind event opening on October 26 in place of the traditional Tokyo motor show.

Lexus has not given a name to the model, which is officially a concept, but speculation is that its going to lend new life to the LS, which kicked off the brand in the 1980s and has continued since, always with large capacity petrol engines, though it is now a hybrid.

Lexus's stand will also feature “its next-generation battery electric vehicle concept model lineup, with the aim of transforming into a battery electric vehicle brand by 2035.”

Lexus says it will also bring a VR experience for show-goers to demonstrate the “future world of driving where electrification and AI technologies help cater to individual customer needs and connect with society.”

The concept car is expected to be the first of a new family of electric cars conceived to do battle with new-age EVs from BMW, Mercedes and Audi and also bump - and perhaps foreshorten the product life expectancies - of the two electric cars Lexus presently sells in NZ.

Special media say the styling study is a preview of a fresh new approach that junks the current approach. The car at Tokyo encompasses a raft of revolutionary new ideas that will lie at the heart of a new line of EVs arriving around 2026 set to bear almost no relation to the firm’s current, NZ-available battery-wed cars: the UX crossover and RZ SUV.

The incoming products, according to Britain’s Autocar magazine, will bring to fruition a suite of dramatic upgrades in battery and powertrain technology, while embracing new design conventions and targeting ambitious price reductions compared with what it has now. 

Autocar says Lexus is expected to leverage these technological advances to reinvent its own line-up in a similar way, as it progresses towards a goal of achieving 100 percent battery-electric car sales by 2035.

The new platform underpinning the design study will be a “key contributor to bringing costs down”, according to senior Lexus figures. It is expected to weigh much less than today’s structures while boosting rigidity and benefiting from the integration of propulsion, suspension and steering systems into space-and cost-efficient module units. Introduction of slimmer new battery packs and smaller motors will allow spacial freedoms. The concept will also give a first look at Lexus’s all-new software platform.

The preview image suggests the concept will take the form of a rakish, low-slung EV, possibly derived from the IS-sized saloon concept Lexus showed in late 2021. The dramatic new front end is defined by aggressive arrow-shaped LED headlights and a muscular, sculpted bonnet that bears a notable resemblance to that of the legendary LFA supercar, while rear-view cameras replace conventional wing mirrors in an early indication that future Lexus EVs will lean heavily on both aero optimisation and digital functionality.

The project seems to reinforce that UX (above), which has been here for almost two years, and the RZ compact sports utility (below), which came on sale in NZ recently, are interim. 

Those cars have been criticised for not offering enough real-world range relative to rival models.

Although the RZ is fresh here, Lexus has already said that it expects to give it a major software upgrade, which should unleash a more reliable range from the battery.

It’s not just the performance under the spotlight; the e-TNGA architecture also now seems to be on borrowed time due to recognised limitations. 

Whereas the concept’s new platform is bespoke to EV, e-TNGA is also designed for hybrid powertrains behind the Toyota and Lexus badges and derives from an underpinning created for purely combustion-engined cars. While a convenient cost-saving, that approach is seen as a drawback now. Lexus and its parent have indicated they will not develop e-TNGA any further.

The new boss of Toyota, Koji Sato, was previously the head of Lexus, and he's seen as being more focused on electric cars than his predecessor, Akio Toyoda, who has moved up to become the company's president. 

Sato has said that the new platform will be designed only for electric power and could offer double the range of current Lexus EVs. With the official range of the RZ being just over 350km, that could mean an impressive 700km range for new models.

“We aim to develop a next-generation battery EV in the Lexus brand in which everything from batteries and platforms to the way the car is built will be optimised for BEVs,” Sato recently told Japan’s Nikkei news network. 

“To deliver appealing BEVs, we need to drastically change the way we do business, from manufacturing to sales and service, with a BEV-first mindset. Lexus will lead this transformation,” he said.

Lexus New Zealand vice president, Andrew Davis, is travelling to Japan for the show. He says it’s an exciting time for the future of Lexus BEV product as the marque continues its electrification journey.

“The uptake of electric vehicles in New Zealand and globally is continuing to accelerate with luxury car buyers looking to sustainable electric vehicles that fit their lifestyles.”

Ninety percent of cars sold by Lexus NZ this year have been electrified - mainly either hybrid or plug-in hybrid than fully electric.