Toyota's Lexus To Launch All-Battery Electric Vehicle Next Year

Japanese automaker Toyota's TM luxury vehicle division Lexus will launch an electric vehicle (EV) entirely powered by a battery in 2020, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Speaking at an event ahead of the Tokyo Motor Show, Lexus International President Yoshihiro Sawa told reporters that they would release the product first in China, North America, and other regions where demand for ‘pure’ EVs was high.

Sawa also unveiled a concept model of a futuristic EV named ‘LF-30 Electrified,’ which is touted to have features like gesture control, augmented reality, self-driving technology, in-wheel motors, and drones, according to The Verge. The publication mentions that these features may not translate into a real product shortly.

According to Sawa, Lexus’s goal is for sales of EVs, including battery electrics and gasoline hybrids, to outpace sales of the luxury brand’s gasoline vehicle models by 2025.
There has been increased pressure on automobile companies to develop zero-emission vehicles as concerns over climate change rise. Toyota is, in fact, late to the party as many of its competitors have launched and aggressively marketed their battery-powered electric vehicles for years, including Nissan and Tesla.

Yoshihiro said that further details on their battery EV are to be released in November.