A new era of Lexus design begins here… The all-new ES, bearing the banner “Clean Tech × Elegance,” makes its Japan debut【写真・85枚目】
The Japan-spec all-new ES, unveiled for the first time at the event. Sales in Japan are planned around spring 2026.
Multiple measures have been built into the side design to avoid conveying a sense of height. The black molding is one such element.
A sketch Kumai drew impromptu. The top shows the previous ES: if you try to mount a battery under the floor while keeping those proportions, the angle of the occupants’ legs becomes cramped. The bottom shows the all-new ES: while increasing overall height to secure an optimal seating posture, repeated trial and error was carried out to achieve beautiful proportions. The one-size growth in body dimensions is the result of that process.
The door trim reproduces a layered pattern inspired by bamboo — a Lexus signature item — using 3D printing technology. The striped area-lighting ornamentation expresses the movement of light like sunbeams filtering through a bamboo grove.
All-new ES Chief Designer, Yahiko Kumai.
Ahead of the driver is a 12.3-inch irregularly shaped LCD meter. Beneath the center display is a unique physical switch array that normally remains hidden and lights up icons when you pass your hand over it.
Body dimensions of the all-new ES are overall length 5,140 mm (+165 mm vs. predecessor), overall width 1,920 mm (+55 mm), overall height 1,555–1,560 mm (+110–115 mm), and wheelbase 2,950 mm (+80 mm). Although the body has grown, a notable point is that overall height has increased in particular to accommodate the battery mounted under the floor.
Yasuyuki Terada, who served as Assistant Chief Engineer in the development of the new RZ.
Sales of the Lexus RZ began in 2023, and a major update model was announced in 2025. Its launch in Japan is thought to be not far off.
The new RZ adopts a Steer-by-Wire system. Lock-to-lock is approximately 200 degrees, and the steering wheel design is also a yoke type.
A stand-alone view of the new RZ’s door trim. Patterns inspired by natural elements such as the passage of time and ripples on water are reproduced by ultra-fine laser processing.
Cartridges in which scent is impregnated into a ceramic resin. The design of the storage case also shows careful attention.
The experiential booth for the new “Sensory Concierge,” a feature conceived under the concept of “performing arts” that fascinates through space and staging. Five fragrances are available — “TENKO,” “KEIFU,” “SEIYO,” “HANYA,” and “SHINMEI” — with videos prepared to match each theme (shot as live action rather than CG).
A demonstration scene of “Sensory Concierge” using the China-spec all-new ES. Illumination, music, images, climate control, and even the seat massage function work in concert to color the cabin.
