Lexus Extends Hybrid Lead

In a world generously peppered with hybrid promises and so far undelivered engineering solutions to the global environmental question, Lexus is something of a beacon of reality - the one company that has delivered the hybrid option on more than a token level, and across a very wide range of cars from limo to SUV.

When it was introduced into production, Lexus Hybrid Drive was pioneering technology. Now it makes more and more sense with every new manufacturer that promises to follow it. But as vice president of Lexus Europe Andy Pfeiffenberger says, being in the game first means the rest who follow will only ever be playing catch up.

In his own words, "as hybrid transforms from being a new idea to a dominant technology, we will continue to lead, because as we introduce the next levels of technology to Lexus hybrid vehicles, we are building on 25 years of research and development, and thousands of patents, already in place". And that's quite a powerful argument.

He also describes hybrid as "the right solution at the right time, meeting a Europe-wide need for efficient driving without compromising on performance". And the only thing you might easily argue with there is that he could have substituted 'global' for 'Europe-wide'.

Everywhere you look in this show, with its slightly unsettling feel of a bunker mentality, others are looking for the answers that Lexus, to a genuine degree, already has. And the words Lexus and hybrid now sit easily together in the marketplace, too. The Lexus mix of hybrid to conventional vehicle sales continues to shift in favor of the hybrids, and they expect the cross-range proportion to grow from 31 per cent hybrid in to 40 per cent by end 2008.

Some Lexus hybrids are already way ahead even of that target - the top of the range hybrid, the large and luxurious LS 600h, already accounts for more than 60 per cent of all LS sales in Europe; and the best selling RX400h is even stronger, taking 67 per cent of all European RX sales and growing. The underlying message being that hybrid technology, properly managed and properly marketed, already works for Lexus.

The LF-Xh represents the next step, hinting at where Lexus Hybrid Drive is heading in the near future - its all-wheel drive layout combining a V6 gasoline engine with high output electric motors. It also looks a little like something that escaped from the dark side, but not so outrageous as to be unrealistic as a long-term direction - a good example of Lexus's L-finesse design language that has shaped most of its recent concepts.

They say you can see hints of L-finesse in the refreshed IS range, too, which adds emissions reducing refinements to its diesel engine options. But you see it even more clearly in the all-new IS 250C, a mid-size two-door coupé-cabriolet with a three-section folding aluminum roof that opens or closes in only twenty seconds and has a low drag coefficient of 0.29Cd. Presumably the hybrid version will be along fairly soon.