At the 2025 Japan Mobility Show, the Toyota Group said the expansion of the Century nameplate into a standalone brand means that change is coming to Lexus, highlighted by a “Discover” ecosystem and messaging. This comes after Toyota Group CEO Koji Sato, earlier this year, said the Japan Mobility Show means more than a single event, and a couple of weeks before the show, the launch of a series of commercials setting the stage for the future of each of its brands.

“From Toyota to Century, each of our brands has a clear promise to our customers,” said Simon Humphries, Chief Branding Officer, at the Japan Mobility Show. “With Century in the exclusive ultra-luxury space, Lexus now has the freedom to strengthen its promise to customers at the heart of the luxury marketplace. And that promise is to ‘discover,’ to think independently, confidently, and to be adventurous and innovative—all with the explicit goal of helping our customers discover a new luxury lifestyle.”

 

LS redefinition

Lexus is hoping to challenge the perception of what a luxury brand can be, especially in the case of its flagship LS luxury sedan. When Lexus introduced the game-changing brand and first-generation LS, it challenged the industry and enabled customers around the world to “discover a new value” in luxury.

The LS had overwhelming quietness, refinement, and quality that rewrote the standards for luxury automobiles. However, since the LS was introduced in 1989, the rules of the luxury market have changed dramatically, says Humphries.

“Once upon a time, executive sedans ruled the automotive world,” he said. “Now, they are fighting a losing battle with SUVs. People are aspiring to completely different experiences. They want the space and freedom to curate their time with maximum efficiency, and they aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo in pursuit of that ideal.”

As a result, Lexus is now redefining its flagship. The LS that no longer stands for luxury sedan, nor even luxury SUV, but rather for luxury space. In Tokyo, it revealed its new LS Concept as a luxury minivan with six wheels “to revolutionize packaging.” Humphries says the concept’s interior is “a space to truly discover sanctuary,” maximizing floor space and access.

“Space is freedom, and space is privacy—two commodities that are simply priceless,” he said. “In a frenetic world, what greater luxury is there than that?”

Under the “discover sanctuary” banner, Lexus calls the LS Concept a new idea for a moving space finished as a true chauffeur-driven car. The six-wheel package was developed around a VIP-centered second-row space and flexibility. It offers interior space “that is isolated from the hustle and bustle and offers serenity.”

However, he says that Lexus customers are looking for variety, even at the flagship level. The reality, in this segment now, is that people no longer aspire to just one type of car, especially when viewed from a global perspective.

“We, as a brand, believe that the emotional side of driving will always remain,” said Humphries, in introducing the new Lexus Sport Concept. It “is a chance to discover complete immersion, an experience that engages all of the senses in ways never experienced before. The LS Coupe Concept answers the wish to have the best of everything—the ability to discover duality, a car that is as fun for the driver as it is for the passenger.”

With the Sport Concept, brand materials say that customers can “discover immersion” with innovative styling that meets traditional sports-car soul. Its wide and low proportions were born for high-level dynamic performance, and its cockpit technology allows for immersion into the world of a next-generation sports car.

“Discover duality” is the theme of the LS Coupe Concept, which is designed to balance high-quality finishes and formal appearance with high-level dynamic emotion. The brand says its “sporty, tight” appearance offers a wide interior space and seating technology for occupants to enjoy their own unique experience.

As Lexus’s flagship series, Humphries says these vehicles “form an arrowhead” to lead the brand into the future “where you can curate your own luxury lifestyle, and it’s becoming clear that that future lifestyle will require many components.”

 

Strengthened by variety

Humphries added that Lexus is a brand strengthened by variety, and its execs see a future that is not just about creating cars. That strategy shift is being influenced by city centers that are seeing ever greater restrictions on space.

“What if we took the essence of the private space [that] we created in the LS Concept and put that into an autonomous one-person format, seamlessly connect business and pleasure mobility and infrastructure on land, and taken one step further to its logical conclusion—sea and air,” he asked. “In other words, 360 degrees of mobility.”

He was referring to the new LS Micro Concept introduced in Tokyo under just the “discovery” theme. The micromobility concept, which allows users to move freely on the small streets and alleys of cities, is an “opulent” single-passenger vehicle finished with high-quality materials. It is designed to be a relaxing space for a private travel experience enabled by fully automated driving.

Company execs foresee a time when Lexus “will no longer be tethered to roads,” and they believe the potential in broadening the horizons of the brand is immense. One example is its collaboration with eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) pioneer Joby Aviation.

“For many years, we have been working with Joby, not just because their personal air mobility is smooth, quiet, and efficient, but because of the freedom it will allow us to discover,” said Humphries. “Fundamentally changing where and how we live, enabling people to discover an independent and luxurious life off-grid, fully self-contained.”

Of the Lexus brand’s ambitions, “the ability to escape” is not limited only to the air, he said. “What if we could bring both privacy and adventure to seafaring, [with] an autonomous catamaran that allows you to discover true escapism.”

To “discover escapism,” the brand showed the Catamaran Concept. It is designed as a true “luxury space,” with privacy created by the vast ocean and automatic ship navigation. Its rigid wingsail design is covered in solar panels to enable quiet and sustainable ocean operation.

In Tokyo, the vehicles were supported by infrastructure concepts like the Lexus Hub, in which “everything Lexus”—from work to private life to movement across land, sea, and air—is “seamlessly connected,” and Lexus House, to discover the independence of a Limitless Lexus Lifestyle.”

“Different spaces, connected by different solutions, with our cities and our brand spaces standing as gateways to support and enable a multi-dimensional way of living,” concluded Humphries. “Luxury is leadership, and the leading edge of luxury is forever evolving.”