With the European launch of its GS450h petrol-electric hybrid model, Lexus is hoping to enhance its brand image and further increase sales in the European market.
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The GS450h is the second petrol-electric hybrid under the Lexus brand (following the RX400h) and it comes with an unequivocal marketing message: this is first and foremost a luxury performance car. And the fancy hybrid powertrain technology it employs is at the centre of the car’s capabilities and the high-end, high-tech image that Lexus sees as a differentiator from the competition.
Moreover, the hybrid technology on the GS450h delivers a joyous concept that Lexus refers to as solving a ‘harmonious paradox’: with this car you get class-leading performance allied to, for a car in this class, unprecedented economy. In Lexus-land you can perhaps have your cake and eat it. To an extent, anyway.
Yes, it’s a performance hybrid
The hybrid set-up in the GS450h carries a number of refinements and differences from previous Toyota/Lexus hybrid systems though common engineering concepts remain – power is combined and re-allocated from the engine, electric motor and generator according to operational requirements. Similar to the RX400h, the GS450 adopts what is termed a ‘series/parallel configuration’. The petrol engine can either power the electric motor exclusively (series mode) or both engine and motor can power the wheels at the same time (parallel mode). It can operate in pure electric mode too (range up to 1.2 miles).
The gasoline engine in the RWD GS450h is a 3.5-litre V6 which incorporates two injectors per cylinder (one in the combustion chamber and a second in the intake port) ‘D4-S’ technology (Lexus’ stoichiometric ‘Direct injection 4-stroke petrol Superior’) which Lexus says delivers the strengths of both direct and port injection to optimise engine efficiency and boost torque by 7% across the rev range. Lexus says two injectors per cylinder is a world first in a production engine.
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By GlobalDataFurthermore, the ‘Lexus Hybrid Drive’ system supplies an additional power boost from the electric motor (which is 20% more powerful than that fitted to the RX400h) that takes the car to a level of performance of a 4.5-litre V8 (hence that ‘450’ name – it’s not the actual engine cubic capacity).
The net result is that there is some 345 horsepower at your disposal (22% more than in the 4.3-litre V8 gasoline engine GS430) that will take you from 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in just 5.9 seconds. It’ll go from 50-75 mph (80-120 km/h) in 4.7 seconds and top speed is 155 mph (250 km/h).
There’s an electronically-controlled Continuously Variable Transmission (E-CVT) which, by coordinating the speed of the engine and electric motor can create the effect of continuous gear ratio variation, resembling conventional CVT. There is also a six-speed sequential sport mode which mimics the ‘step’ gear change feel of a conventional sequential-mode automatic.
And there is a clever two-stage motor speed reduction gear inside the transmission which is coupled to the electric motor. The mechanism generates maximum low-gear torque for extended acceleration and extended high-gear performance for high-speed cruising with improved efficiency.
Engineers at Lexus have clearly been busy on reducing size and weight on major hybrid components wherever possible. The GS450h’s 288V nickel-metal hydride battery (co-developed with Panasonic and 100% recyclable but still taking up room that reduces boot capacity considerably) is some 13% lighter than that of the RX400h’s while the Power Control Unit, formed by the voltage boost converter and DC/AC inverter, is 63% smaller and 43% lighter (and now the size of an auxillary 12V battery, Lexus says).
It all adds up to impressive performance sitting atop some technical wizardry that must be costing Toyota/Lexus quite a bit to develop.
Being green(er), going further and taming the taxman
So far, so good. What about the more overtly green message associated with hybrids – the other half of the ‘harmonious paradox’? Well, we’re clearly not in Toyota Prius territory here with a performance car like this. Lexus says that GS450h’s performance positions it ‘between the luxury E-segment V8 models and the top performance sports saloons of the same class’. But it says that GS450h returns 35.8 mpg (7.9 litres/100 km) on the combined cycle is on a par with a typical 4-cylinder D-segment saloon (such as the Ford Mondeo). Ditto the CO2 emissions at 186 g/km.
In driving this car rather than one of its segment rivals, you can at least tell yourself that you are going greener, even if your green credentials will appear flimsy to some.
On a more selfish tack, lower fuel consumption also means that you’ll travel further on a full tank: the claimed range is over 500 miles (800 km) on a single tank of fuel. That means less visits and/or time filling up at the gas station.
Lexus is also not slow to point out that the low CO2 figure versus its rivals makes the vehicle tax efficient in some European countries. In the UK, Lexus says that GS450h company car drivers will pay less than half the company car taxation of those driving a similar performance V8 car. Company car divers with a BMW 550i SE, Audi A6 4.2 quattro and Mercedes E500 would pay between GBP2,469 and GBP2,641 a year more than GS 450h drivers due to those vehicles’ higher list price and CO2 ratings.
Volumes
In terms of sales targets for this model, Lexus is apparently taking a cautious approach.
The GS model range was the second best selling Lexus model in Europe last year with 6,145 units (21% of Lexus’ total). This year it is anticipated by Lexus that the European sales figure will rise to at least 6,800 units – a 12% increase. Some 2,000 units are expected to be GS450h models.
In the UK (Lexus’ biggest national European market), Lexus expects to sell 700 GS450h models in 2006, with 750 unit sales forecast for 2007.
Production of the GS450h in Japan is running at just over 500 a month (150 for Japan, 150 for Europe and 200 for the US; a little bit more on top for Australia/NZ). Lexus says it can add capacity if necessary.
Lexus estimates total brand sales – all models – in Europe this year of 45,000 units (a doubling on last year; and performance so far this year is on track to meet that) with hybrid share of the total at 26% (bear in mind that it would be higher but for the IS range where the volume push is on the diesel and where no hybrid variant is available or planned). By way of comparison, Mercedes-Benz car sales in Europe last year were 695,000 units; BMW was 650,000 units.
Clearly the brand in Europe is beginning to make market headway as new models are rolled out. And Lexus is keen to exploit its lead in hybrid technology as a core brand value. The hybrid models in its range are positioned as top-of–the-line.
Karl Schlicht, Lexus Europe VP, told European media representatives in Spain this week that Lexus sees its hybrid technology as an ‘ambassador technology’ and ‘brand-defining’. As other OEMs roll out their hybrid models, he acknowledged that the challenge for Lexus was to continue to develop hybrid technology and maintain its lead. Lexus Hybrid Drive will be continually improved, he said. The flagship LS600h arrives in Europe next year, further reinforcing the hybrid-premium connection.
But how quickly will Lexus grow in Europe? Pressed by just-auto for a Lexus brand sales figure forecast for Europe in 2007 he said ‘around 50,000 units’. And the Lexus projection for 2010 remains at 65,000 units. It looks conservative and the cynics will say that the low number is a typical Toyota tactic; a low target that can be comfortably surpassed perhaps. Equally though, it may be that Toyota/Lexus retains some political sensitivities and is keen to grow sales steadily, volumes increasing through its legendary brand loyalty and market demand rather than an aggressive sales drive that would risk brand dilution.
Rumours of a planned Lexus plant in Germany persist, though it is hard to see a justification for that investment on these numbers.
Should Lexus’ European premium rivals be worried as Lexus expands in Europe? Some may argue that the numbers are low, that Europeans are loyal to local premium brands and that even Lexus’ rapid growth in the US didn’t really harm them. But in Europe it may be different, without the room in the market for Lexus to be absorbed as a primarily higher-volume and low-end executive segment player. The developing brand image in the European sales growth phase may be different, typified by the high-tech nature of the now hatched performance hybrid. And there’s that Lexus customer loyalty factor to consider. No room for complacency, at least.
With the price of oil where it is, with Mercedes-Benz still in quality recovery mode (at least in terms of perceptions) timing and conditions could be favourable for the performance hybrid.
Toyota/Lexus is betting big-time on hybrid technology. The development costs continue to be high on relatively low production runs but if any company can absorb those costs and continue to pump out some models at a loss it is probably embarrassingly profitable Toyota (market capitalisation somewhere in the stratosphere), a company that believes hybrids have a role to play in the long-term.
Lexus GS450h is another important step on the path to Toyota President Fujio Cho’s stated target of selling one million hybrids per year.
And it shows – quite emphatically – that the hybrid can be about much more than just delivering economy.
Dave Leggett
