Lexus commits to dedicated hybrid

TOYOTA has revealed it will unveil two exclusive new hybrid models at next year’s Detroit motor show – one a replacement for the current, second-generation Prius and the other a 100 per cent hybrid Lexus.

“Next year here in Detroit, we will expand our conventional hybrid line-up by staging world premieres of two all-new, dedicated hybrids: one for Toyota and one for Lexus,” said Toyota Motor Corporation president Katsuaki Watanabe at the world’s largest motor show last month.

Details on the successor to Toyota’s increasingly popular Prius MkII remain scarce, but it’s possible the 2009 iteration of its first dedicated petrol-electric vehicle could feature plug-in recharging technology, given Mr Watanabe’s promise that by 2010 Toyota will deliver a “significant fleet” of plug-in hybrids powered by lithium-ion batteries.

Toyota began testing plug-in hybrids last year in Japan, Europe and the US last month with a fleet of 16 modified Pruis, which the same nickel-metal-hydride batteries as found in the production Prius, which has accounted for 70 per cent of the 125 million hybrid vehicles sold by Toyota and Lexus combined since the original Prius in 1997.

Left: Lexus hybrid family: (L to R) RX 400h, LS 600hL and GS 450h.

Meantime, Lexus has carved a niche for itself as the luxury hybrid brand via petrol-electric versions of models such as the RX SUV, GS large sedan and LS limousine. However, it is yet to produce a model powered only by a petrol-electric powertrain.

Such a model is a logical step for Toyota’s luxury division, but its announcement 12 months early has nonetheless surprised those who had expected other all-new and renewed models to appear first, including the production LF-A super-coupe, a yet-to-appear small-car and an RX replacement, which is now due to emerge at the LA show in November.

As GoAuto revealed exclusively last October, Lexus has decided to produce a compact passenger car in the vein of BMW’s 1 Series, rather than a sub-RX, RAV4-sized compact SUV aimed at the likes of BMW’s long-speculated X1, while the LF-A has appeared in at least three different concept guises.

Just as the 1 Series hatch, coupe, upcoming convertible and (in the US) sedan model family and the forthcoming X1 SUV are and will be positioned beneath BMW’s volume-selling 3 Series and X3 ranges, the “new entry-level” Lexus, codenamed C-Premium and now under development, will need to undercut its IS medium sedan stabelmate on both size and price.

In addition to the current RX400h, Lexus launched Australia’s first hybrid limo in the shape of the LS600hL late last year and this week launched a facelifted GS sedan in Australia, including a barely modified GS450h hybrid variant. The new RX will also continue to offer hybrid power.

Lexus’ all-new 200 Series LandCruiser-based LX570 will not come with the option of hybrid drive when it goes on sale in April, which could make the prospect of an advanced hybrid-only model as welcome for some as it is necessary for Lexus at it attempts to reduce its corporate CO2 footprint.

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