Lexus has released a teaser shot—and video burst—for a new electric-car concept, due to be revealed later this month at the Tokyo Motor Show.
The model, which is expected to be a production-bound small city car based on the Lexus LF-SA concept from 2015, will be what Lexus chief Koji Sato described to Autocar earlier this year as being “a tall, boxy hatchback.”
Reports have also suggested that a fully electric version of the Lexus UX crossover is also on the way, but these are likely completely different products. Although an urban-sized EV would be unlikely for the U.S., such a model could be an important step for Lexus in Europe particularly, where for minicompacts battery-electric powertrains are quickly becoming expected—and seen as premium and desirable.
The car is expected to be fitted with an evolution of the brand’s complex spindle-grille design—likely a challenging task to fit that to a small, blunt nose that doesn’t have the same cooling challenges as if an engine were underneath. The video released shows an especially creased-and-sharpened—yet curvaceous—look in front, with soft lighting strips that illuminate downward in a way that establishes motion.
In-wheel motor technology is also reportedly in the works from Lexus—perhaps sooner than other brands, and even in a new concept iteration at Tokyo—but it’s unlikely yet in a production model and this latest teaser contains no additional information for that.
Lexus LF-SA concept, 2015 Geneva Motor Show
Lexus does say that the new vehicle will be “leveraging continued advances in technologies such as electrification and autonomous driving.”
We’re curious to see how that matches up with what it then maps out as the brand’s future vision—one in which it “caters to consumers who are equally passionate about driving and uniquely crafted luxury experiences.”
Lexus is expected, potentially as soon as 2022, to also get an electric SUV based on the new electric-vehicle platform being jointly developed with Subaru.