LEXUS HYBRID DRIVE

It has only been three years since Lexus introduced hybrid technology to the premium automotive segment with the RX 400h, the world’s first performance hybrid SUV.

The GS 450h, the world’s first performance hybrid drive saloon, was launched in 2006 and, this year, the LS 600h introduces high-performance hybrid technology to the luxury segment for the first time. With its sophisticated and proven hybrid drive technology, the whisper quiet LS 600h delivers exhilarating performance, impressive fuel economy and lower emissions.

Lexus is the first, and only, premium manufacturer to offer a comprehensive range of hybrid drive models.

It is a reflection of premium car purchasers’ growing environmental concerns and their desire for cleaner, more efficient vehicles, that full hybrid system-equipped models now represent 30% of total Lexus sales in Europe.

The presence of a range of Lexus hybrid drive models at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show confirms how Lexus leads the premium automotive segment with this sophisticated and intelligent technology.

For a long time luxury car manufacturers struggled with the question of how to deliver more power without simply building bigger engines that burn more fuel and produce more emissions. Driven by the pursuit of perfection, in 2004 Lexus introduced a breakthrough solution: Lexus Hybrid Drive.

By intelligently combining a highly efficient petrol engine with one or more high-output electric motors, Lexus Hybrid Drive achieves what was previously impossible: the power and acceleration of a high-performance luxury car with the impressive fuel economy and lower emissions of a smaller car.  In fact, when Lexus Hybrid Drive cars are operating in electric-only mode, they produce no emissions at all.

For more information about the LS 600h, the GS 450h and the RX 400h, please visit the hybrid technology section of our website.