In previous years, this date was the most lively time for the Beijing Auto Show, but this year due to the epidemic factors, the Beijing Auto Show was postponed, but this can not stop the car companies from expressing their determination to consumers, especially at the moment when the penetration rate of new energy is so high, those luxury brands with late electric layout are riveted to prove themselves.
After Mercedes-Benz brought the EQS SUV and Audi brought the urbansphere concept car co-created with Chinese users, the second-tier luxury brand Lexus also could not sit still, bringing the real pure electric product RZ.
On April 20, LEXUS' pure electric model, the new RZ, was officially launched in the world. The new car is positioned as a pure electric compact SUV, and is based on the e-TNGA pure electric platform like toyota bZ4X and Subaru Soltera.
Is this a deluxe edition of the bZ4X?
Although Lexus currently has a pure electric product on sale, the UX 300e is an oil-to-electricity product, not a pure electric product in the true sense of the new era, and the RZ released today is the first shot to blow the electric counter-attack horn.
Judging from the information released, the Lexus RZ has a strong Lexus classic design element in the appearance design, and the front face continues to adopt a design similar to the spindle grille, but as an electric vehicle model, it is actually a fully enclosed design.
The shape of the LED headlight group is still so sharp, with the outward extension of the sports front lip, the overall vision has a strong sports atmosphere. The tail is equipped with the popular through-type taillights, supplemented by leXUS letter logo in the middle, and a trunk ducktail spoiler, which brings a good sense of movement and layering.
However, the overall shape of the new car and the Toyota bZ4X are too similar, so in order to better distinguish it from the bZ4X, the BZ adopts a hard line design, black column and other iconic designs, which give people the overall feeling that it does not have the amazing effect of the previous fuel car.
Not only does it look very similar, but even the size is similar, the new RZ length, width and height are 4805mm/1895mm/1635mm, which is roughly equivalent to the Toyota bZ4X, and the wheelbase of 2850mm is exactly the same as the bZ4X.
In terms of interior, Lexus is also a bit of a maverick meaning, using a rectangular steering wheel similar to Toyota bZ4X, reflecting the sense of the future, but it does not take the new force of the simple technology design ideas, full LCD dashboard and large size central touch screen double screen and its fuel car interior style compared to the same, the overall center console line design and the shape of the air outlet is still the obvious Toyota style, continue to maintain their consistent pursuit of interior luxury, and the appearance is not too big surprises.
In terms of power, the Lexus RZ450e is equipped with dual motors to achieve "DIRECT 4" all-wheel drive, with a maximum power of 150 kW for the front motor, 80 kW for the rear motor, and an overall output of 230 kW.
The endurance is also decent, it is equipped with a 71.4 kWh power battery, the endurance can reach 450 km (J-WLTC standard), compared with the new power model at every turn 500-600 km endurance is indeed not attractive.
Is Lexus really "panicked"?
Honestly, in the face of this unstoppable tide of electrification, all traditional car companies are a little panicked, otherwise we will not see BBA such a first-line luxury brand invariably bring their flagship electrification products, Lexus as the domestic market second-tier luxury brand shoulder handle, has been in the import status of the pot full of pots, in the face of the future of electrification Lexus naturally also wants to continue to play the role of luxury brands, but Lexus's transformation is more or less a bit of a duck on the shelves.
As the world's largest automobile manufacturer, Toyota Motor has always had reservations about the wave of electrification, and the head of toyota Akio has questioned the development path of pure electrification more than once, such as its carbon emissions and cost problems.
But in the face of the unstoppable tide of electrification, Toyota compromised. In Toyota's strategic blueprint, Lexus was once again pushed to the front row of the electrification transition. According to the plan, by 2030, the Japanese luxury brand will achieve 100% sales of pure electric models in China, North America and Europe, and global pure electric vehicle sales will account for 100% of the brand's sales by 2035.
The reality is that Lexus China electrified models in 2021 will account for only 38.7% of total sales, most of which are hybrid products. So in 2030, all pure electrification is definitely a big leap forward, and even Lexus itself is not ready.
Of course, there is also a very realistic situation that the "craftsmanship" that Lexus has been marketing for many years is not so popular. According to official data, Lexus China delivered a total of 226,100 new vehicles to users in 2021, an increase of 1.1% year-on-year, although it also achieved the 17th consecutive year of growth.
But what needs to be seen is that according to the statistics of the China Automobile Association, in 2021, the domestic high-end brand passenger cars increased by 20.7% year-on-year, and the growth rate of luxury cars in recent years exceeded double digits, and the growth rate of Lexus was obviously lagging behind the market, and the market share was gradually declining.
Especially after entering 2022, this phenomenon is particularly obvious, in the domestic market, Lexus in February 2022 sales of 11306 vehicles, down 24.81% year-on-year, down 36.12% month-on-month, 2021 from February 2021 to February 2022, Lexus cumulative sales of 228258 vehicles, down 9.86% from the same period last year.
The reason for the decline in sales is also very simple, on the one hand, the rise of second-tier luxury brands such as Hongqi and Lincoln, on the other hand, Tesla, Wei Xiaoli and other models of new car-making forces are constantly encroaching on the luxury brand market, and in the past two years, Lexus's "craftsman" myth is gradually being punctured.
In the face of the ever-changing new energy market, car companies understand that the later they start, the less market there will be. Therefore, luxury brands such as BBA are also racing against time to launch new flagship products in an attempt to reverse the current passive situation in the new energy market.
However, The transformation of Lexus seems to be a little bit of a sense of speed, and the first strategic electric product it brings is similar to Toyota's bZ4X, as if it still continues the idea of replacing fuel products, and the electric flagship products brought by brands such as BBA are really not attractive, and do not let us see its determination to transform electrification.
In the future, with such products to compete with the new power products that are now the benchmark of "electrification" and "intelligence", I believe that Lexus itself does not have much confidence. If Lexus is still determined and speedy in the transformation of electrification, the name of its luxury brand is likely to stay in the fuel era, of course, this is also a challenge for all luxury brands.