Lexus is stepping into uncharted territory with its most significant overhaul in its 36-year history. This comes after parent company Toyota announced a dramatic reconfiguration of its brands, placing Century at the pinnacle of luxury while defining new roles for each.
This shakeup involves more than just rearranging names; it’s about clarifying each brand’s distinct position in the market to avoid overlap and confusion. Century, once exclusively a flagship sedan model popular in Japan with high-profile clientele, is now expanding globally as a standalone luxury brand – potentially even reaching Australian shores. Its recent evolution includes a new luxury SUV model alongside its existing sedan.
Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota, stated that Century previously lacked a clear identity within the company’s lineup. The expansion of Century, which aims to target the ultra-luxury segment with bespoke offerings, necessitates adjustments across all brands, including Lexus.
Simon Humphries, Toyota’s chief branding officer, emphasizes that while Lexus remains Toyota’s premium brand, it now has the freedom to “take more risk.” This new direction is encapsulated in a concept dubbed ‘Discover,’ which aims to push Lexus beyond its traditional boundaries and explore innovative territory.
Humphries explains: “Lexus should continue to push forward as a pioneer, while Century sets its sights on the high end as the ‘Top of the Top, One of One.’” This suggests that Lexus will focus on cutting-edge technology and design, potentially venturing into areas where Century won’t tread.
Takashi Watanabe, president of Lexus, elaborates on this strategy during an interview with CarExpert in Tokyo: “Each brand now has a specific and clear role…Lexus’s role is electrification, so we need to focus on the possibilities of what electrification can bring to the world.” This signals a strong commitment to electric vehicles, potentially exploring new technologies like hydrogen fuel cells for future models.
In contrast, Watanabe suggests that traditional combustion engines might fall under the purview of Toyota’s Gazoo Racing (GR) performance division. This strategic clarity allows each brand within the Toyota umbrella to specialize and innovate more effectively, ultimately bringing new technologies to market faster.
John Pappas, Lexus Australia boss, reiterates this commitment to innovation while reaffirming Lexus’s intention to remain competitive in the traditional luxury sector against brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz: “We’re not giving up on the core – the core we strengthen – but then we ‘discover’ through new values to lift that brand experience up, lift the product up, lift the services up to another level.”
This ‘Discover’ theme, according to Pappas, will involve exploring new design language and customer experiences. The role of the newly established Century brand in this evolving landscape is still being debated. Pappas acknowledges: “Until we understand what we’re producing [showroom models] – where are we elevating to and what role does Century play – they’re all undecided.”
The recent Japan Mobility Show showcased Lexus’s bold new direction with a powerful V8-powered supercar concept, alongside intriguing LS-badged concepts featuring an SUV coupe and a six-wheel people mover. Century debuted its own coupe concept at the same event.
Lexus’s commitment to risk-taking and exploration promises to reshape its identity in the coming years, creating both excitement and uncertainty within the luxury automotive world.
