Although Koji Sato is still a month and a half away from officially taking over as president of Akio Toyoda, the current global head of the Lexus brand has already begun planning for his own era.
On February 13, Tsuneji Sato said at a press conference that Lexus plans to develop a "next-generation" pure electric Lexus model by 2026.
Tsuneji Sato said at the press conference, "Our goal is to develop the next generation of pure electric vehicles in the Lexus brand, from batteries and platforms to car manufacturing methods, everything will be optimized for pure electric vehicles." It is reported that as the current head of the brand, he participated in overseeing the development of the first electric Lexus RZ.
Tsuneji Sato will succeed Akio Toyoda as president of Toyota Motor Corporation from April 1. At the same time, at the press conference, Tsuneji Sato also announced his new management team that he personally selected. Effective April 1, Toyota Midsize Motor Corporation President Hiroki Nakajima will serve as Chief Technology Officer, Yoichi Miyazaki will serve as Chief Financial Officer, and Simon Humphreys, General Manager of Design at the Automotive Development Center, will become the new Chief Brand Officer. The three will join the board together.
Simon Humphreys, who has been with Toyota for the shortest time, has also been with Toyota for nearly 30 years.
At the same time, the adjustment of the three vice presidents, Kenta Imata, Masahiko Maeda and Kuwata, is also a major focus of Toyota's personnel appointment. The three executives will lead Toyota's "City of Knitting," Asia strategy and electrification businesses, respectively.
The "Weaving City" is an important testing ground for Toyota's transformation from an automobile company to a mobility company, and this purpose-built city will apply all of Toyota's advanced technologies in autonomous driving, mobility, low-carbon living, and electrification transformation, which can be said to be a "model room" for the future of human mobility. Tsuneji Sato also reiterated at the press conference that he will lead Toyota from an automaker to a mobility company.
Electrification is undoubtedly the first step to becoming a sustainable mobility company.
Tsuneji Sato emphasized that in order to provide attractive EV products, Toyota needs to significantly change its existing business model with an "EV first" mentality, which involves manufacturing, sales and service, and "Lexus will lead this shift."
The new president, an engineer, believes that electric vehicles are very different from gasoline vehicles, "the aerodynamic requirements are different... We must fully understand the characteristics of electric vehicles ... Build the car in the most appropriate way".
However, his words still leave room for future business layout. He pointed out that the energy situation of each country is different, and Toyota will specify different strategies for each country's situation. Asked about concerns about Toyota's slow electrification strategy, Sato said he regretted a "communication problem." It noted that Toyota's electric vehicle strategy is medium- to long-term, and that Toyota is currently focusing on energy conservation efforts to reduce emissions over the life cycle of its models through the use of hydrogen fuel cells and other technologies, as well as emissions reductions from daily business operations.
Returning to Lexus' first pure electric vehicle, the RZ, which was launched in China on February 14, a total of three models were launched, and the manufacturer's recommended retail price range was 369,900-459,900 yuan.
Competition is particularly fierce in this price range. Ideal L7/L8/L9, Zhiji LS7, Avita 11, Skyfan R7, BMW iX3, Mercedes-Benz EQC, Cadillac Ruige, etc., almost all luxury brand electric vehicles and high-end new forces products are gathered here. In the era of fuel vehicles, Lexus has made many consumers fall with craftsmanship and oriental aesthetics, and in the electric era, can RZ still stand out? This is a problem.
As Lexus' first pure electric model based on the e-TNGA platform, the RZ has the same origin as the Toyota bZ4X and bZ3, but at a slower pace. From the appearance point of view, it also has the shadow of bZ4X, but with the addition of Lexus family elements.
From the configuration point of view, the Lexus RZ has the Direct4 electronic dynamic four-wheel drive system, which can control and distribute the drive force of the front and rear wheels according to changes in road conditions, in addition, Yamaha sports damping shock absorbers arranged on the front and rear axles of the vehicle can also dynamically adjust the damping according to real-time vehicle conditions.
In terms of intelligent configuration, it has lane change assist, driver status monitoring, remote parking, forward traffic crossing warning, parallel blind spot monitoring, reversing blind spot assist, etc. However, if you want to get the above configuration, you must choose the middle configuration from 399,900 yuan and the top configuration from 459,900 yuan. On the 369,900 yuan version, there are almost no intelligent assistance systems, and it cannot be optional.
It can be said that in addition to the size and interior materials are more refined than the bZ4X, and there is an extra motor, the RZ from the same platform and the bZ4X are not much different. But you should know that the GAC Toyota bZ4X version is only 169,800 yuan, while the RZ version is 369,900 yuan, a difference of more than 200,000 yuan. The only difference is a Lexus logo, a motor, and some imitation leather and suede materials.
Taking the 399,900 yuan mid-range version as an example, users need to choose a technology smart suite worth 23,900 yuan to have functions such as parallel blind spot monitoring, lane change assistance, and head-up display. It is worth noting that if users want to buy the technology smart package, there is also a precondition, that is, they must first purchase a driving control and enjoyment package worth 12,900 yuan, and the so-called driving control package is a set of wheel rims plus motion damping shock absorbers. In this way, the optional price reached 36800 yuan, and the total price of the model reached 436700 yuan.
Not to mention the new forces that are suffocating in configuration, BBAs, which are regarded as "catch-ups" in the field of electrification, seem to be more sincere than RZ.
Perhaps, Tsuneji Sato should come to China and walk more.