The jeans and sneaker Lexus

Finally! A Lexus that is meant to be driven by the younger (not necessarily of course), style-conscious luxury customers who prefer to drive and enjoy their privacy and luxury vehicle all to themselves, and may not really be comfortable having a driver with them all the time.

The all new LBX Lexus was introduced last Monday night at a very relaxed jeans and sneaker event at the Lexus Manila showroom in Bonifacio Global City with Lexus Philippines president Masando Hashimoto (aka Michael Jackson-san), the ever-youthful and energetic chairman Vince Socco, vice chairman David Go, Lexus Manila president Raymond Rodriguez, Lexus Philippine executive vice president for marketing Jing Atienza, Lexus Philippines senior vice president for marketing Masahiro Haoka and Lexus Manila general manager Carlo Ablaza all shedding their normally formal coat and tie attire in favor of sports coat over jeans and sneakers while enjoying a relaxed lounge vibe with a female DJ.

The veteran motoring journalists were all beginning to notice the definitely younger vibe brought by the new crop of influencers and Gen Z motoring enthusiasts as well.

The LBX Lexus was specifically designed to appeal to contemporary luxury tastes, with Lexus identifying three key customer profiles: existing Lexus customers who may want a second (or third, or even fourth?) smaller car; people who admire the Lexus brand and what it stands for, but have not yet found a model that suits their needs, and those who have not considered the Lexus before, but whose interest may be triggered by the new hybrid electric crossover vehicle.

The LBX, priced at nearly P3 million, has strong visual appeal for younger, city-smart luxury customers who want a premium quality that comes with a more casual, contemporary look and feel, but also allows the owner to feel comfortable driving in jeans and sneakers (of course designer brands preferably), while still appreciating the luxury craftsmanship, premium quality and engaging driving character that are time-honored hallmarks of the Lexus brand.

The smallest Lexus yet, the LBX is a self-charging hybrid electric crossover that is designed to be accessible and easy to live with, and is in tune with contemporary style thinking that combines high quality with a casual feel.

As a new entry point to Lexus’ model range, the LBX may be an attractive alternative also to those seeking to downsize from the bulkier and hard-to-park sports utility vehicles, and offers a cozier vibe to those seeking to enjoy a date night with their partner.

The LBX is the first Lexus model to be manufactured at the Iwate plant in eastern Japan, a facility that has benefited from Toyota Motor Corp.’s investment to help regenerate a region that suffered devastation from the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of 2011. Production will begin within this year.

According to Jade Sison-Mendoza of Lexus, they plan to import just a little less than 100 units from Japan for the Philippine market this year.

No preferential tariff

Unfortunately, while the Lexus LBX is a hybrid electric crossover, it is not covered by Executive Order No. 12 which extends preferential tariff to electric vehicles (EVs). A lower tariff could help lessen the cost of the transitional hybrid electric vehicles and encourage the switch to EVs.

EO No. 12 allows a temporary reduction on the import duties on certain EVs and their parts and components for five years starting in February 2023.

The Department of Trade Industry, however, is of the opinion that EO No. 12 is intended to support the swift building of a charging infrastructure to bring up volumes of EVs to a critical mass that will in turn lead to local manufacturing and assembly of EVs.

But what the DTI seems to forget is that Toyota Motors Philippines and Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. are already invested in the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy or CARS program which encouraged the local assembly of certain enrolled automotive vehicles.

The two Japanese automakers are already transitioning to the less polluting hybrid electric vehicles that use a combination of a gasoline engine to initially start the vehicle and charge the electric vehicle and which can then switch to an electric motor.

The hybrid electric crossovers are expected to hasten the switch to battery operated EVs.

New Lexus showroom

While the main attraction last Monday night was the new LBX, motoring reporters were also talking about the new Lexus showroom that is under construction and is expected to be completed by this year that will offer more space and maintenance service for Lexus’s ever-growing clientele.

Negrense ingenuity

A Negrense from Bago City has come up with a power generator that uses rice hulls that the province hopes can help in rural electrification, which in turn, would help improve rural industrialization by supporting the operation of a small fabrication shop called Pandayan ng Bayan para sa Bagong Magsasaka.

The Pandayan ng Bayan is intended to help the rural agricultural community service existing agricultural equipment provided by the government, as well as possibly manufacture small machinery and farm tools needed by the farming community, hopefully leading to improved productivity and helping grow the rural economy.

Joel Catalbas invented and developed the power generator with the help of another Negrense, Ramon Uy.