Currently reading: Lexus commits to electrified sports cars in future line-up

Global head of brand management says cars like the LC still have a place in the brand's future model range

Sports cars such as the Lexus LC 500 will continue to play a part of Lexus’s product line-up in the future, with the first such machine with an electrified powertrain likely due around 2025.

The Japanese firm is currently in the midst of a bold expansion plan with at least 10 electrified models – using electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains – due by 2025. 

Lexus has previewed its first full EV based on a dedicated platform with the new LF-Z concept, and which is set to join the current UX 300e.

While Lexus has focused on expanding its SUV line-up in recent years, Hiroo Togashi, the firm’s brand management boss, hinted that the firm will continue to offer halo models such as the LC 500 in the future.

“Our customers expect to have more emotional vehicles offering engagement between driver, passenger and car,” said Tasaghi-san. “One area we think we can do that is providing sport vehicles in the future. I can’t mention specifics, but towards 2025 we will be working on such a vehicle for the future.”

Lexus has committed to offering an electrified version of every model from 2025 onwards, and Togashi said that any future performance models would “have some form of electrified powertrain”.

98 Lexus lf z concept official images static rear 0

The LF-Z concept showcases Lexus’s new Direct4 electrified all-wheel-drive system, which is designed to distribute power between the front and rear axles in a way that ensures the car maintains optimum weight distribution and traction.

Takashi Watanabe, Lexus’s electrified engineering boss, said that system is designed to “create a new driving sensation and experience” for electrified Lexus models, and such technology is likely to be a key part of any future Lexus performance models. 

The Direct4 system is designed to work on both BEVs and hybrid powertrains, in line with Lexus’s strategy of offering multiple powertrains for the mid-term future. The exact mix of powertrains will depend on market demand and regulations in each region.

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James Attwood

James Attwood, digital editor
Title: Acting magazine editor

James is Autocar's acting magazine editor. Having served in that role since June 2023, he is in charge of the day-to-day running of the world's oldest car magazine, and regularly interviews some of the biggest names in the industry to secure news and features, such as his world exclusive look into production of Volkswagen currywurst. Really.

Before first joining Autocar in 2017, James spent more than a decade in motorsport journalist, working on Autosport, autosport.com, F1 Racing and Motorsport News, covering everything from club rallying to top-level international events. He also spent 18 months running Move Electric, Haymarket's e-mobility title, where he developed knowledge of the e-bike and e-scooter markets. 

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TStag 1 April 2021
Toyota should give up on Lexus in Europe. They sell hardly anything in Europe where traditional brands are favoured.

I’ve thought for a while that Toyota should buy JLR, both Jaguar and Land Rover would be a great fit for them. Buying them out would also mean they could pull Lexus out of Europe and make it a US only brand where it seems to have more success.