Get ready for the amazing, all-electric Lexus vehicles coming your way.

In late 2021, Lexus revealed the first look at a futuristic new model, the Lexus RZ. The images are captivating, but what’s also especially consequential about the vehicle is the last letter in its name: Z. It’s just one letter, but it potentially carries huge—and exciting—implications for your future Lexus driving experience.

The Z stands for Zero, and as Lexus President Akio Toyoda announced, it represents Lexus’ goal to create clean-powered vehicles that produce no CO2 emissions “throughout the whole process of their use.”

“I believe that achieving carbon neutrality means realizing a world in which all people living on this planet continue to live happily,” Toyoda explained to a global audience last December. “We want to help realize such a world…for that challenge, we need to reduce CO2 emissions as much as possible, as soon as possible.”

To that end, Lexus plans to emphasize battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) over the next decade—vehicles powered solely by an electric battery, with no gas-engine parts. Eventually, says Toyoda, Lexus plans to switch all of its worldwide vehicles to BEVs by 2035.

This bold, sustainably minded transition is, of course, in keeping with Lexus’ longstanding, and tireless, eco-minded ethos. It was Lexus, for example, that introduced the world’s first luxury hybrid, the Lexus RX 400h. Plus, Lexus has instituted numerous sustainability-focused practices over the years, such as adding recyclable or reclaimable materials to vehicle components (plant-based bioplastics, for instance) and following production processes that help prevent hundreds of thousands of pounds of materials from ending up in landfills.*

This coming ‘Lexus Electrified’ evolution is a continuation of those environmentally conscious values. Vehicles like the Lexus RZ and BEV Sport concept are windows into Lexus’ new “EV era” where premium battery-electric vehicles will be the future symbol of Lexus—moving Lexus models closer to carbon neutrality while also delivering an exhilarating driving experience.

And it’s this exhilaration aspect of Lexus’ goal that’s especially key to Lexus BEV models like the Lexus RZ, says Koji Sato, president of Lexus International and chief branding officer. He points out that Lexus wants to ensure nothing is lost in the process of making a battery-driven EV: “It should be environmentally conscious…but straight-up fun to drive!”

Put differently, Lexus’ goal of carbon neutrality via luxurious, clean-powered vehicles will go hand-in-hand with a thrilling, performance-oriented driving experience—similar to the fun-to-drive aspects of Lexus hybrid vehicles. (For example, in addition to their part-time electric-only power at low speeds, Lexus hybrids are designed to harness their electric motors to help boost acceleration with their conventional engines in certain situations, such as when accelerating from a stop.)

This longtime Lexus notion of enhanced driving performance in hybrid vehicles will become more accentuated with Lexus BEVs. Thanks to new features like DIRECT4, the electric power will help control each wheel individually for increased responsive handling and agility.

The coming ‘Lexus Electrified’ era is an opportunity for even more Lexus variety and fun to drive models. Lexus drivers will find an exciting new age of sustainably-minded, technologically-advanced, luxury vehicles.