Lexus unveils crazy-looking electric concept with giant gull wings, announces first BEV

Lexus, which has yet to launch an electric car, is unveiling today a new concept for one that is so crazy-looking that it’s doubtful anything like it will materialize.

However, the automaker also announced plans to unveil an actual electric car that they plan to bring to production.

Toyota was early to the hybrid game with the Prius, but where most automakers moved to plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles, the Japanese automaker stuck to hybrids and instead bet on hydrogen for electric vehicles.

The approach has extended to Lexus. Last year, Yoshihiro Sawa, Lexus’ CEO, said that “all-electric vehicles are not yet ready for primetime.”

They even have been trash talking all-electric vehicles in their hybrid vehicle advertising.

Despite this mentality and anti-EV language, Toyota says that it is aiming to launch 10 new BEVs worldwide by “the early 2020s.”

Lexus is expected to be behind some of those BEVs, and today they unveiled the Lexus LF-30 Electrified Concept, which they present as their vision for what electric cars will look like.

The Japanese automaker says that it is equipped with a 110 kWh battery pack capable of 500 km of range, and it can charge at a 150 kW rate.

It is also apparently equipped with in-wheel motors:

In taking up the challenge of expressing a new design that could only be achieved with a BEV powered by in-wheel electric motors, Lexus visually articulated the LF-30 Electrified’s unique energy flow. The vehicle form is meant to visually express the energy created by the wheels set at the corners of the vehicle body streaming toward the vehicle cabin and past the driver to directly flow onto the road surface.

Apparently, they want them to look like this insane-looking thing with giant gull-wing doors:

However, buried in its press release for the Lexus LF-30 Electrified Concept, Lexus confirmed that it “plans to unveil its first BEV in November 2019.”

That’s next month, and likely to happen at the LA Auto Show, where several other automakers are planning to unveil electric cars.

Electrek’s Take

Honestly, I don’t understand the point of unveiling this insane-looking electric concept, which actually looks very good in my opinion, just before unveiling the first BEV you plan to make.

I feel like they’re hyping people by saying, “Here’s what we could do in the future, but for now, we’re just going to do this other thing.”

To be fair, I haven’t seen the electric car they plan to make, but I bet it won’t be as cool as this.

Of course, I know most people don’t want crazy-looking cars and will prefer a more traditional design from Lexus, but I still think it’s a weird strategy.

Either way, I am glad that we are finally going to see an all-electric car from Toyota/Lexus that they actually plan on producing.