October Reveal to Hint at First Lexus EV

Electric concept cars are often a snoozefest, nothing but vaporware bait aimed at the techie crowd, but a vehicle coming to Tokyo’s annual auto show in October will likely herald a production vehicle. Specifically, the Lexus brand’s first EV.

Both Toyota and its premium division plan to field a total of 10 electric models by the middle of next decade. If a report detailing the Lexus concept is anything to go on, the brand’s first electric offering might be boxy, modestly sized, and — if Lexus designers really do plan on emulating an older concept — possibly pretty ugly.

A report in Autocar claims the concept appears in the form of a “tall, boxy and city-friendly hatchback” bearing a futuristic design. If you’re picturing the BMW i3, you’re not alone. However, the publication states that Lexus will likely take cues from its 2015 LF-SA concept when designing the production car.

“We feel that our future could resemble this design,” Lexus vice-president Koji Sato told Autocar.

Google up an image of the LF-SA and tell us you dig that design. Frankly, the first thing that comes to this writer’s mind when viewing the LF-SA is one of those fat roll-covered human-bug hybrid monsters from a schlocky 1980s horror film, but hey — eye of the beholder, and all that. Besides, 2015 was a long time ago and production vehicles almost always tone down the outlandishness of the earlier concept.

Indeed, there’ll be some visual elements tying the unnamed EV to the current Lexus range.

Lexus design boss Koichi Suga said that, while company brass have yet to sign off on the design, we’ll be able to expect some form of vestigial spindle grille.

“Cooling still needs to happen,” said Suga. “The spindle grille is also a representation of personality, and it’s the face of the car, so it’s really a necessary part of the brand identity. But because it’s an EV, [customers] are also going to expect something that’s futuristic, something more non-traditional.”

According to the report, one feature bound for the Tokyo concept is a pair of infotainment screens positioned on either side of the steering wheel. Besides that, few details exist. Both Toyota and Lexus EVs will share a common architecture developed for use beneath the company’s future EVs. While Sato claims he’d like to see hub motors powering each wheel independently, don’t expect to see that feature among the first crop of Toyota EVs.

“We will continue to pursue this exciting opportunity,” he said.

Interestingly, Sato mentioned that the Lexus brand is still in need of an entry-level car to tempt younger buyers into the brand. It would seem that there’s some high-level debate occurring as to the validity of this plan.

The Tokyo Motor Show kicks off on October 23rd.

[Image: Lexus]