Daily Slideshow: Full Electric Autos Aren't Ready for Primetime
EVs, hybrids, or something else?
So what's on the horizon?
Lexus, like its parent company Toyota, hasn't been pushing hard for electrification on of their model lineups, opting in favor of going hybrid. The brand has yet to release an EV in spite of almost all other premium brands doing so with new vehicles. The man in charge, Yoshihiro Sawa, has stated that it is just too soon for an EV in the stable and the brand would rather wait and present an alternate powertrain with a better approach to consumers.
More than just a vehicle
At Goodwood Festival of Speed Sawa stated to Autocar: "Our philosophy is to provide freedom of movement, so we have to develop technology on all fronts. We understand that electric is very necessary – more than some, perhaps, with our early move to the hybrid, but we can also see that full EV will not suit everyone. You can’t make an electric Land Cruiser work, for instance – and there are people in remote parts of the world whose lives depend on that car."
One of the biggest issues with EVs
"Pure EVs currently require a long charging time and batteries that have an environmental impact at manufacture and which degrade as they get older. And then, when cells need replacing, we have to consider plans for future use and recycling. It is a complex issue – much more complex than the current rhetoric perhaps suggests. I prefer to approach the future in a more honest way."
Porsche and Audi claim that they've figured out how to bypass long charging times but we've yet to see how that measure will work and what long-term effect it would have on battery packs.
The alternate fuel wards
However, Lexus has recently unveiled the LF-1 Limitless Concept that supports an all-electric powertrain and has plans to release its first EV in 2020. Okay, so despite plans to release an EV in a couple of years, let's think about Sawa's thoughts on battery packs. Many people who aren't familiar with EVs give little thought to battery packs and what will become of them in the future. Afterall, this is a pretty new thing on a mass produced level for folks to wrap their minds around. Other automakers have already addressed this matter and are working to recycle their batteries or use them as stationary energy storage systems.
Sounds good to us
On the topic of alternative powertrains, Lexus's manager of global strategic communications, Paul Williamsen has already gone on the record previously stating “both hybrid and EVs are merely bridging technologies on the way to the solution, which is hydrogen." What could be an issue for Toyota not seeming too keen on an EV vehicle could be that their engineers saw an incredible issue with the duration of charging times.
“I’ve worked with batteries enough to know that fast-charging a battery is about the second worst thing you can do to it. There are two ways to abuse a battery: overheat it or fast charge it. With the Tesla Superchargers, they don’t publicise it, but if you 'supercharge' a Tesla, one supercharge takes 20 charge cycles off the end of that battery’s life. Two supercharges takes 40 charges. That’s simple chemistry; you can’t force the ions through the battery that fast without causing damage."
“With hydrogen, we’ve got something that can fill a (Toyota) Mirai, or a Highlander, or a Honda, or a Hyundai, with a 200 to 400-mile range, in three minutes. You’ll buy that, your wife will buy that, and she’s going to pay about $4 (per gallon, or 3.8 liters) to fill it up, too, which is pretty great.”
The end of EVs?
While there are other car companies working on their own hydrogen-fueled vehicles both publicly and on the down low, we think that Lexus may have a bit of a jump on them. “You can make a motor vehicle that uses hydrogen as an energy source in three completely unrelated ways,” Williamsen explains. "The only one that makes sense is a hydrogen/EV hybrid. That’s what we’re doing, and we’re using our experience in a hybrid to do that. If you don’t make your hydrogen car a hybrid, you’re giving up all the efficiency advantages of regeneration. So you’re being wasteful."
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