How Lexus Sees the Future of Vehicles
Why bother with a plug-in hybrid when you can have a full-on EV? Check out the thoughts and views on the future of vehicles wearing the Lexus badge.
Let's set some ground info
Lexus, unlike parent company Toyota, has no plans or interest in plug-in hybrids. The plug-in hybrids have been big business for a little while now and have been successful in helping people to make the transition from conventional hybrids to full EVs. Alain Uyttenhoven, of Lexus in Europe, said that the brand will leave plug-in hybrids to Toyota citing that plug-in tech is just a stop-gap to a larger issue.
Don't worry about looking for a plug
The solution for Lexus will be a focus on pure EVs as well as hydrogen-powered fuel cells for propulsion of their future vehicles. Uyttenhoven also remarked that electric vehicles (EVs) and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) will go much further in the effort to combat CO2 emissions from the rest of the marque. With emission regulations getting stricter by the year, Lexus believes that plug-in hybrids will eventually fail to meet the bar set by the European Union.
Engineers will be hard at work trying to bring the cost of EVs down while Lexus will be simultaneously offering electric and fuel cell versions of its most expensive products. “In Europe, the more successful electric car sales are at the high end,” Uyttenhoven said. “But in the premium market, 50 percent of cars are sold below €40,000 ($47,000). If it’s more than that, how will people afford it?”
EVs are the way of the future
“Soon we will have to reach 75g/km. At that time pure hybrids will not be sufficient,” said Uyttenhoven. “The two things we can do are introduce plug-in or introduce electric.” However, Lexus would rather develop tech for the latter. “We do not need to have plug-in hybrid vehicles. It’s a loophole in the market. We will reach the (carbon dioxide) targets without them,” Uyttenhoven remarked.
When asked about EV technology, Lexus brand head Yoshino Sawa said: “Of course we’re developing EV technology, we’ll introduce that kind of vehicle at a suitable time."
Or are they?
Paul Williamsen, Lexus's manager of global strategic communications, believes that EVs are a problem because of a simple matter of chemistry: "We won't be able to get the charging times down."
“I’ve worked with batteries enough to know that fast-charging a battery is the second worst thing you can do to it. There are two ways to abuse a battery: overheat it or fast charge it. With the Tesla Superchargers, they don’t publicise it, but if you ‘supercharge’ a Tesla, one supercharge takes 20 charge cycles off the end of that battery’s life. Two supercharges takes 40 charges. That’s simple chemistry; you can’t force the ions through the battery that fast without causing damage."
Electric vs Hydrogen
Williamsen goes on to say “our approach is to have the best and most efficient way of using hydrogen, which has to be a hybrid. Not every automaker thinks that way. They can have a zero-emission vehicle by having a hydrogen fuel cell that directly drives the car or a hydrogen-powered ICE, but they’re using twice as much hydrogen as we are.
"With hydrogen, we’ve got something that can fill a Mirai, or a Highlander, or a Honda, or a Hyundai, with a 200 to 400-mile range, in three minutes. We believe a hydrogen fuel cell EV hybrid is the only way to go, so that’s all we build."
For help with service of your car, check out the how to section of ClubLexus.com