Despite the upcoming release of the brand’s first EV, Lexus management is still skeptical about battery-electric powertrains — from WhichCar:
[Lexus International President Yoshihiro] Sawa told WhichCar that his company was watching the state of play in the EV state very carefully – and in particular, the world’s largest producer and consumer of EVs, China.
Agreeing that the market for electric vehicles had softened there, Sawa told WhichCar that the issue came down to government incentives for electric vehicles.
“Once these stop, phht,” he told WhichCar, gesturing with a ‘cut’ motion. “In fact, people are going back to hybrids.”
Many companies, including Mercedes-Benz and Audi, have suggested hybrid powertrains are little more than a stopgap measure on the way to full electrification, but Sawa believes differently.
“Our cars with nickel-metal hydride batteries [hybrid cars] are doing well,” he said. “They [the batteries] are expensive, but they are easier to recycle. Lithium batteries, on the other hand, are cheaper, but production capacity is a problem.”