Lexus delays next-generation electric vehicles

[Gecko]

NHK reports that Toyota Motor Corporation will delay the production schedule for its next-generation electric vehicles in an effort to integrate cutting-edge technologies into the new models. Japan’s biggest car manufacturer now aims to begin production of the next-generation Lexus EV (LF-ZC) in mid-2027, pushing back the original target of a 2026 launch.

Unveiled last year, the Lexus LF-ZC is a concept car previewing the brand’s future battery electric vehicle (BEV) lineup. The name “LF-ZC” stands for “Lexus Future Zero-emission Concept” and it represents the brand’s vision of next-generation BEVs, emphasizing cutting-edge technology, sustainability, and innovative design...

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[Kelvin2020]

That’s a good news 👏🏻👏🏻

 

[CRSKTN]

Sounds like my gut was right, they made some chemistry breakthrougs.

 

[Sulu]

Because this delay is only about one year (2026 to 2027) and because the originally-planned introduction date is just over a year away, there won't be any major updates to existing vehicles, like the IS and LS; these models will just live longer than originally planned and any updates will be extremely superficial, e.g. colour and feature availability.

Planning for product updates and then pushing these changes to the production line takes time.

 

[ssun30]

I don't think they made any chemistry breakthroughs but rather just re-scheduled their battery rollout plan.

In the original schedule they planned to introduce a high performance monopolar Li-ion battery in 2026 only to replace it with a bipolar design in 2027. It doesn't make much sense to have just one generation of top-end batteries that last 1 model year. Also Aisin's second generation eAxle was planned for 2025 but third generation comes in 2027.

So the original LF-ZC will come out in 2026 with a dedicated BEV platform (Gigacast), 1st generation high performance battery (monopolar), and 2nd generation eAxle. Now it will launch in 2027 with the BEV platform, 2nd generation bipolar battery, and 3rd generation eAxle.

Most EV manufacturers have to face the new reality: there likely won't be any generational leap in energy density and power density this decade and cost reduction has plateaued. The extreme pace of EV evolution in the past decade was mostly reaching for the low hanging fruit. People these days have an obsession with tech optimism and assume most engineering innovations could persist at current pace indefinitely. But they didn't know many fields of fundamental research have stagnated for decades (battery and magnetic materials are very good examples).

 

[Will1991]

I'm led to believe this is related to all that stuff we see in the Aisin future:

Things to improve efficiency here and there.

 

[mediumhot]

This car has close to identical size specs as upcoming bz3c