Lexus to avoid plug-in hybrids in favour of fuel-cell cars and trucks as well as full EVs
Lexus will relocation directly from hybrids to fuel-cell cars and trucks as well as full EVs over the next few years, according to Europe manager Alain Uyttenhoven.
The technique will see Lexus very first introduce a hydrogen-powered high-end saloon based on the LF-FC idea in 2020, before moving towards smaller electric cars and trucks as well as SUVs (as previewed by the LF-SA concept) later down the line.
Advertisement – short article continues below
• finest plug-in hybrids on sale
Uyttenhoven told car reveal at the Frankfurt motor Show: “We do not requirement to have plug-in hybrid vehicles. It’s a loophole in the market. We will reach the [CO2] targets without them.”
As regulations becomes much more stringent, Lexus would requirement to development beyond its variety of hybrids, Uyttenhoven admitted. “Soon we will have to reach 75g/km,” he told us. “At that time pure hybrids will not be sufficient. The two things we can do are introduce plug-in or introduce electric.”
7
First the Japanese brand will invest in high-end high-end cars like hydrogen or electric versions of the LS saloon as well as LC coupe, as the expense of installing the tech on smaller designs is currently as well prohibitive.
Uyttenhoven insisted that for Lexus to truly make money utilizing electrified powertrains, the innovation would requirement to filter down to mainstream designs like the CT hatchback as well as NX mid-sized SUV in the future. “In Europe, the much more successful electric cars and truck sales are at the high end,” Uyttenhoven told us. “But in the premium market, 50 per cent of cars and trucks are offered below 40,000 Euros. If it’s much more than that, exactly how will people pay for it?”
When asked whether Lexus’s very first pure-electric venture might be a small, premium EV, Uyttenhoven explained: “It might be. A great deal of people who have reached a specific level of riches like to have a little premium cars and truck much more than a bigger, much more mainstream brand of car.”
Would you purchase a plug-in hybrid over the other low CO2 alternatives? let us understand in the comments below…