Lexus Europe to be pure-electric by 2030

Lexus has confirmed its intention to be an electric-only brand in Europe by 2030, revealing a series of concept cars designed to represent its future line-up of premium EVs.

The news came as Toyota Motor Corporation CEO Akio Toyoda headed up an online presentation that also revealed 11 new electric Toyota models due before the end of the decade.

The first model to arrive will be the new Lexus RZ (below) – a pure-electric SUV that Lexus chief branding officer Koji Sato says will be the maker’s “very first dedicated battery-driven EV”.

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The RZ, first teased earlier in December 2021, uses the same platform as the Toyota bZ4X and Subaru Solterra SUVs and is expected to go on sale in 2022. The new BMW iX3 rival will be roughly the same length as the hybrid Lexus RX 450h and is likely to top the brand’s range in Europe for the time being, joining the UX 300e as Lexus’s second pure-electric offering.

Alongside these models will sit an electric saloon and a larger electric SUV, as well as a flagship Lexus-LFA-inspired super sports car with a 0-62mph time “in the low-two-second range.”

Toyoda said this model will feature “proportions and low ride height essential to a sports car”, with the boss also claiming it'll showcase the “unique driving performance of a Lexus”. Solid-state battery technology should provide the potential Tesla Roadster competitor with a range of 700 kilometres (435 miles).

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With Lexus having dropped the BMW 3 Series-rivalling IS 300h from its UK line-up, it’s unclear whether the aforementioned saloon concept will go on sale here. The larger SUV concept is thought to be more closely aligned with the not-for-UK Lexus LX 570, so whether it'll be for European buyers is also undecided. 

However, images revealed during the presentation suggest further models are planned, including a shooting-brake estate and a convertible, plus a further six cars all disguised by a silhouette. Lexus is currently targeting one million global electric sales a year by 2030.