Despite competitors flocking to the technology, it doesn’t appear Lexus will be releasing a plug-in hybrid any time soon — from Australia’s Cars Guide :
Lexus executive vice-president international Mark Templin says the company is not rushing to adopt plug-in technologies, despite parent company Toyota selling a plug-in version of the Prius in the US.
“I believe that plug-in hybrid is just a stepping stone to the next technology, which is fuel cell,” he says. “Most consumers don’t use them the way they’re designed to be used.
“Governments give tax breaks, or regulations are pushing people, to do that but the reality is that in markets where they are being sold today, most people don’t plug them in all the time. They just drive them like a normal car.”
This is no surprise, as both Lexus & Toyota have been lukewarm on plug-in hybrids — the Prius Plug-In Hybrid is the only vehicle in either lineup with the technology.
Instead, it appears that the short-term play is to improve the existing gas-electric hybrids, with fuel cell vehicles like the Toyota Mirai being the long-term goal.
(The article also mentions the fuel cell LS, perhaps my favorite Lexus rumor of the past year.)
