Is Lexus Planning to Build an Executive Jet?

SMH

Toyota is a major conglomerate, its not surprising they would be considering these markets in their corporate roadmap as they plan for the future.

If they already wanted to do something like that as a company it wouldn't be taking any money away from Lexus, it'd just be essentially another subsidiary using the Lexus brand.

But I do feel like if they were doing this, they'd need an ultra luxury face of Lexus, much like Mercedes has Maybach.

So, production version to come?

Lexus could be looking to take flight with a possible executive jet, according to a CarsGuide interview with Toyota president and Lexus chief brand officer Akio Toyoda:

“Toyota itself is trying to transform from an automotive company to a mobility company and in order to enhance the value of the Lexus brand we need to cover land, sea and also air, and therefore the yacht was a concept we thought we really need to have,” he said.
When asked by CarsGuide if that specifically meant that Lexus was also investigating the development of an aeroplane, Mr Toyoda replied: “Well, please watch us in what we do when it comes to that area.”

Lexus will be launching the LY 650, a 65-foot yacht, at the...

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But I do feel like if they were doing this, they'd need an ultra luxury face of Lexus, much like Mercedes has Maybach.
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I agree, but we're talking about Lexus here! Not gonna happen.

The car industry is dead electric cars are killing this industry. Here's the thing electric motor makes it too easy to build a car ppl might start build their own car now at their back yards, Toyota can see this future. The only way to keep auto industry alive now is a shift to hydrogen the other way is to shift from auto to mobile. All you electric car fans, how many people would loose jobs if Toyota shift to electric cars today 100%?

I don't understand, they must have higher end vehicles planned too right? And more competitive, interesting models?

How do you just go from "our most expensive car is under $150k" to "our boats start at millions and we are thinking of jets too."

CRSKTN said:

I don't understand, they must have higher end vehicles planned too right? And more competitive, interesting models?

How do you just go from "our most expensive car is under $150k" to "our boats start at millions and we are thinking of jets too."

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Hyundai also makes cargo ships and a lot of other mega-priced stuff and their most expensive car is under $100k. Chaebols and keiretsus are weird like that.

Ian Schmidt said:

Hyundai also makes cargo ships and a lot of other mega-priced stuff and their most expensive car is under $100k. Chaebols and keiretsus are weird like that.

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Cargo ships are capital expenditures in the pursuit of some economic endeavour. Positioning yachts and private jets alongside luxury cars is a much different thing than the giant industrial conglomerate arm of companies like Samsung or Hyundai.

Just seems to me that there is a clear gap in the lineup. I can't see how you sell a multimillion dollar yacht, when the likelihood that the person who can afford to buy it probably would drive up to it in a Lexus is lower than the chances they show up in a Rolls or something like that.

If i have to go to other companies to try and find vehicles "on my level" if i'm a yacht or jet buyer, and you're positioning yourself as some luxury automaker as well, I can't see how that's a win for TMC and Lexus.

This just makes me think that the top-end Lexus needs to be derived from something like the Century, and they need a high-end luxury-focused SUV (LX doesn't really compete in that way) as well (where is the LF1?).

Just seems unfocused.
We hear about how the media has to get behind another LFA before it's considered.
We hear about how the LC convertible took priority over the LCF, as though it's impossible for a company as big as TMC to do both.
We haven't heard anything exciting/meaningful about the next gen IS.
The latest GX and LX models are behind the times in terms of features, even compared to the RX, which is insane to think about.
The ES has stepped on the LS' toes this generation, weakening the value proposition, while having its own shortcomings in Lexus wheelhouse areas like audio quality.
We haven't heard anything exciting/meaningful about the future of the GS as the current model is left to age on lots and on the street as other automakers are trying out new things and shaking up their lineups.
The company is continuing to focus on going down range (understandably), but they need to offset the UXs and NXs of the world with real luxury products to keep the image.

This may come off a bit harsh, but that's only because I have high expectations for the brand given my history and experience with Lexus.
I really believe in the company, but they need to step it up. We live in a world of 24 hour news cycles and instant gratification. You cannot go this long without meaningful information and updates for your models. How long are we supposed to stay in the dark about our options?

I am probably going to buy another car in the next year or two, and i've got a full F model now, but i'm having a hard time being motivated to wait another 6 months here or there to see what Lexus offers vs just shopping the competition.

I just don't get it. Are they relying entirely on people shopping Lexus out of habit? I don't think anyone here is expecting them to shove out brand new exciting models every 3 years, but the complete lack of anything to look forward to is kind of insane.

Do we have any company/industry insiders here? Without going into material nonpublic information, what's the deal? Is it just a cultural thing? Do they view it internally as a risk to the brand? Are Lexus employees/engineers/designers/etc. feeling like they like the direction/pace/market position of the brand?

Private jet projects from a company with no expertise in aircraft manufacturing is almost guaranteed to end poorly. HondaJet was a development hell and there's no hope of turning a profit from it.

While the $1 billion program cost will not make a notable dent to TMC's $23 billion annual profit (Akio can literally fund his private Mars program if he wants to), I doubt a company that recently refused to accept losses making its most iconic sportscar in house being serious about this. The only way for this to work is outsourcing development and manufacturing like with the LY650.

ssun30 said:

Private jet projects from a company with no expertise in aircraft manufacturing is almost guaranteed to end poorly. HondaJet was a development hell and there's no hope of turning a profit from it.

While the $1 billion program cost will not make a notable dent to TMC's $23 billion annual profit (Akio can literally fund his private Mars program if he wants to), I doubt a company that recently refused to accept losses making its most iconic sportscar in house being serious about this. The only way for this to work is outsourcing development and manufacturing like with the LY650.

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It really is insane how conservative the company is.

The issue with Japanese companies is they are sometimes so long running, the survival of the institution seems to be prioritized over it thriving.

I am still shocked they couldn't even justify doing the Supra properly.

Good for Toyota (Lexus)!

Why not, I ask? I applaud this news, if it is true.

Honda already has a corporate jet division (HondaJet). Toyota also has experience in aerospace.

Toyota currently owns 10% of Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation, builder of the Mitsubishi SpaceJet, a 70 to 90 seat regional jet aircraft. MAC recently bought the CRJ range of regional jets from Bombardier Aerospace.

Even if MAC eventually stops selling the CRJ in favour of its own SpaceJet, it now has the technology developed by Bombardier. The CRJs were originally developed from the Challenger business jet; and there is also at least one CRJ model that was developed into a business jet. Toyota now has access to that technology.

With these products flying, it would not be difficult to develop the SpaceJet into a high-end corporate business jet and label it as a Lexus. It could even help to sell more SpaceJets -- "If it is good enough for Lexus, is it not good enough for your airline?".

ssun30 said:

Private jet projects from a company with no expertise in aircraft manufacturing is almost guaranteed to end poorly. HondaJet was a development hell and there's no hope of turning a profit from it.

While the $1 billion program cost will not make a notable dent to TMC's $23 billion annual profit (Akio can literally fund his private Mars program if he wants to), I doubt a company that recently refused to accept losses making its most iconic sportscar in house being serious about this. The only way for this to work is outsourcing development and manufacturing like with the LY650.

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I'm pretty sure they are just going to reskin it not develop it. Pun intended.

Would Lexus call it the (Luxury Airliner) LA 747?

A SpaceJet-based bizliner will compete very poorly against the super large business jets like the Gulfstream G650 due to the severe lack of range and it's also too small to compete against true bizliners. It is optimized for high density short range travel (good for a regional jet) which is the opposite of what a business jet needs to be.

It will be quite hard for Toyota to convince Mitsubishi to develop a mid-range variant due to the obvious lack of demand. Even if they do the plane will not have intercontinental range (which is why super large business jets exist in the first place), because it cannot fly at typical business jet altitude (50,000 ft+).

Lexus picked a rather reasonable size for its yacht. It didn't just get in there with a 100-ft+ superyacht and expect to be competitive against the big names. If they do rebrand a business jet it will probably take a similar approach as well. Honda's problem is that it went too small.

Great! But please fix the car range first...IS desperately needs an update, GS is about to become a memory, LS is nice but a tad underwhelming, the flagship LX SUV is ancient and just technologically underwhelming (albeit very comfortable), ES needs AWD and more higher end grades, RC although nice are too slow, LC needs a F model as a brand halo, NX is based on an outdated platform now that the RAV 4 has been updated...same goes with the RX...only the UX is nice but that needs some serious backseat room...

Just my opinion anyway. Without its strong core products, there really is no desirability left for the brand. Of course everybody wants a flagship/halo car. But if nobody can afford them, they move down the food chain. A guy on a show about advertising once said people go into a BMW dealership looking at the 7 series, and walk out with a 5 series. Yes a nice private jet will draw prestige to the brand. But if there are nothing else offered that is worthy of the brand, then what is the point? May as well get a jet from an actual jet maker...right?

thtupid said:

Great! But please fix the car range first...

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I agree, but it's very unlikely that any Lexus engineering will be working on this plane so those aren't exclusive things.

Hey, the Germans are likely prohibited from manufacturing aircraft because of their past doings so Toyota will not trail them at all. My boss at the work place even mention how traveling in and out of Berlin airport was kinda restrictive.

Boats, planes, hover boards, movie collaborations, design studios... everything the brand is doing is a distraction from the fact that their car lineup is the least compelling and competitive it's ever been in Lexus' 30 year history.

After ~22 years as a passionate enthusiast, I stepped away from Lexus ~6 months ago, but it's still shocking and disheartening to see the absolute lack of direction at a brand level.

I'd say this brand is headed nowhere fast, but it seems they are headed to the skies and seas - while completely neglecting the legacy that brought them here in the first place. Lexus is quickly heading towards irrelevance.