Lexus announces in pictures a large premium electric SUV. This will expand the brand’s “zero emission” range by positioning itself above the RZ. It could be placed in the same segment as the LX, which offers seven seats, and be called LZ.
In December 2021, the Toyota group presented a strategy of electrification as massive as it is rapid, giving a glimpse of several future “zero emission” vehicles carrying the Toyota or Lexus brands. The latter intends to completely abandon thermal power by 2030 in Europe, China and North America, and only plans five more years to do so in its other markets. One by one, the vehicles through which this transformation will pass are revealed in images. After the RZ 450e electric SUV “cousin” of the Toyota bZ4X (4.69 m long), Lexus is now focusing on another more imposing “zero emission” adventurer, mentioned for the moment under the name of Lexus Electrified SUV.
An impressive electric SUV
This mastodon takes up the aesthetic codes of the Lexus RZ with a style that is both refined, muscular and resolutely modern. In detail, we notice a reinterpretation of the brand’s famous anvil-shaped grille through a frontal body panel flaring towards the air intakes located below the thin two-stage headlights. The edge that highlights the beltline marks a drop above the rear fenders, which, combined with the horizontality of the bonnet and the hollowed sides underlined by bodywork protection, brings a certain visual stature to the vehicle.
The “floating” flag at the rear and the sloping tailgate pillars contribute to this impression. Rear lighting is provided by a continuous LED strip that extends over the fenders, at the corners of which there are high air extractors. The imposing plate protecting the lower part of the stern gives it a massive appearance. We also note the presence of retro-cameras, supposed to reduce aerodynamic drag for the benefit of autonomy. No interior images have been released yet.
An electric Lexus LZ to replace the LX?
Given the size and silhouette of this SUV, it would not be surprising if it constituted an alternative or a replacement for the current LX, a family model which is not offered on our market and whose current generation has was launched at the end of 2021. Therefore, the car could be called LZ and offer seven seats on board. Vehicles of this size often shun France, or even Europe, for reasons as much related to their size as to their exhaust emissions, which are incompatible with the standards and taxation in force. But the move to all-electric is likely to be a game-changer.
What is almost certain is that this model will be based on the new modular e-TNGA platform developed by the Toyota group with Subaru; an architecture inaugurated by the Toyota bZ4X and Subaru Solterra while waiting for the Lexus RZ. Traction and 4 x 4 configurations will therefore be possible. The bZ4X and Solterra are launched with a single 71.4 kWh battery. That of the RZ has not yet been revealed. The size of the supposed LZ could accommodate a larger capacity battery. It remains to be seen when this large premium electric SUV will be presented in due form and then marketed.
