TECH INSIDER | LEXUS LF-30
concept is a major departure from anything
in the existing line-up. “Management gave
us a license to dream a little on this project,”
Cartabiano says with clear pleasure, but it is
nonetheless based on mid-term technological
advances that are already in the pipeline.
Notably, designers seized upon the
packaging and space opportunities afforded
by in-wheel electric motors on all four wheels
and a more compact solid-state battery
powertrain, which is stated on the concept’s
side sills to subtly reinforce the point. With
these underpinnings and positioning, there was
more potential for designers to create greater
interior space than would be possible if motors
were placed elsewhere and the battery pack
was still a larger lithium-ion one, as the benefit
of solid-state batteries is their ability to pack
more power into a smaller space due to better
heat resistance. In order to differentiate further,
the LF-30 also proposes that its big wheels
and their in-wheel motors will be able to affect
body control by individual adjustment at each
wheel – something Lexus is rather mysteriously
calling ‘advanced posture control’ – through to
a steer-by-wire steering wheel (which can also
fold forward and out of the way in autonomous
mode) plus inductive charging.
Solid plans
While hard-nosed millimeter-by-millimeter
calculations on the potential space savings of
solid-state batteries rather than lithium-ion
batteries were not factored into the concept car’s
actual dimensions, “aesthetics were the only
governing factor,” Cartabiano concedes. Lexus’s
parent company
Toyota is nonetheless
very much involved in the
development of solid-state batteries for
the future. Indeed, Toyota’s senior
management have indicated that a vehicle using
them could be rolled out as early as the 2020
Tokyo Olympics, but probably within a one-off
version of the e-Palette autonomous people
mover (fi rst shown at the 2018 Consumer
Electronics Show), rather than as the start of
actual production.
Koji Sato, Lexus executive vice president
echoed these sentiments at the 2019 Tokyo
Motor Show, suggesting solid-state was a
promising technology but not quite ready
yet. “Solid-state batteries can be packaged
smaller,” he says, “but might not be ready
before the next LS,” which given the mk5
version of the flagship Lexus launched in 2017
and should have at least a six-year lifecycle,
would suggest that such tech is unlikely to be
feasible until 2025 or later but still good for a
499km (310-mile) range or more.
As to whether Lexus might go down the
‘twin-limo’ route of Mercedes in offering both
its next regular S-Class with probably partial
hybrid as well as a separate full-electric large
limousine that should closely resemble the
2019 Vision EQS concept, Sato does not
explicitly reveal. However, he indicates that
Lexus might choose a different top-of-the-range
path, perhaps understandable given its smaller
32 // January 2020 // www.electrichybridvehicletechnology.com
overall range of
vehicles (and sales
compared to Mercedes).
“Our brand icon is the LS, but the
market is changing with greater SUV
demand so we have to adapt,” he continues.
“Maybe one electric SUV flagship and one
hybrid LS saloon flagship could be a solution.
Don’t forget that ‘petrolhead, car guys’ tend to
dominate luxury car purchases. Meanwhile,
I believe the key driver for a carmaker is to
create the dream for the customer, that’s why
the LF-30 concept is further afield than the EV
that is coming sooner.”
The first fully-electric Lexus to which
Sato refers is the UX300e. Launched in
November 2019 at the Guangzhou International
Automobile Exhibition, is an EV version of
the compact Lexus UX crossover with a more
conventional 54kWh lithium-ion battery
onboard for around 400km (250 miles) of
pure electric driving. Its introduction, which
is scheduled for a 2020 release in China and
2021 in the UK, and the LF-30 concept suggest
that Lexus and Toyota are finally embracing full
EVs after decades of staying hybrid-only.
1. The LF-30 features inductive charging technology
2. By 2025 Lexus aims to have electrifi ed versions of
its entire fl eet, with sales outpacing its ICE variants
3. The UX300e is the fi rst fully-electric Lexus
4. The cockpit uses augmented reality controls
5. Seats are able to mold to passengers for comfort
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