The premium Japanese automaker is gunning for “a new brand vision” and the global introduction of the LF-Z Electrified concept shows it's properly getting behind the electrification revolution. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean everything will be zero-emissions going forward.
Instead, the brand has announced many corporate decisions alongside its bold and elegant LF-Z prototype. For starters, the company aims to speed up new vehicle development “to meet the diverse and changing needs of customers around the world.” That means Lexus has decided to refocus the technology, design, and planning teams in a single location (Shimoyama, Japan). It has also announced the pending introduction of no fewer than twenty all-new or refreshed models by 2025.
Of those, only half will be of the battery-electric (BEV), plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV), and hybrid electric (HEV) variety. As for the LF-Z Electrified, we’re probably not going to see a direct production version, as the company hints it will use the prototype to “further advance the Lexus Driving Signature.”
It does, however, incorporate technologies, design choices and advanced driving performance features the company plans to release by 2025. For example, it comes with its own, dedicated EV architecture. This supposedly brings an ideal placement for the battery pack and electric motor, along with the new Direct4 all-wheel-drive tech.
Looking sleek and a bit smaller than it really is at 4,88 meters (192 inches), the LF-Z Electrified comes with bold design choices inside and out, such as the new Tazuna cockpit or the use of artificial intelligence technology.
Power should be plentiful from the modular Direct4 AWD system, so the 536-horsepower EV is reportedly capable of hitting 62 mph (100 kph) in exactly 3 seconds, en route to a top speed of 124 mph (200 kph). As far as the range is concerned, the 90-kWh lithium pack will be good for up to 600 km/373 miles (WLTP) and juice up rapidly at up to 150 kW.
Interestingly enough, Lexus doesn't plan on ditching ailing segments such as the sedan niche and even expects to “explore the possibility of introducing new vehicle types, such as sports models, cars appropriate for chauffeur driving and models in entirely new categories.”
Aside from the new 2025 timeline for the 20 new and facelifted models, the company also promises to have the unified business and technology center in Shimoyama, Japan, ready in March 2024. From then on, the clock will inexorably tick forward towards the ultimate goal of achieving “carbon neutrality throughout the entire lifecycle of all its models by 2050, including in materials manufacturing, parts and vehicle logistics and disposal and recycling.”
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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