Toyota luxury brand Lexus will lead the Japanese automaker into the use of Tesla’s Gigacasting techniques, after a handful of companies have announced plans this year to invest in transitioning to the technology for future electric vehicle (EV) production.
Toyota said it would adopt Gigacasting manufacturing techniques earlier this year, and Lexus President Takashi Watanabe said at the recent Japan Mobility Show that the company would use Gigacasting to produce the upcoming LF-ZC (via Automotive News). The company also shared a concept photo of the vehicle, saying that it expects to launch a production model of the EV in 2026.
“Gigacasting will play a very big role in the LF-ZC, as we want to drastically simplify the manufacturing process of our next-generation EVs,” Watanabe said.
The company also shared a few concept images of the vehicle, as can be seen below and on the Lexus website.
Credit: Lexus
Lexus will also lead the Toyota shift into EVs, as the luxury brand will get its first EVs a year earlier than the parent company, which plans to debut its first battery-electric models in 2027. In addition, Lexus plans to offer only battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) by 2035.
The LF-ZC, which stands for “Lexus Future Zero-Emission Catalyst,” is expected to build on previous development of the RZ line, which the automaker launched earlier this year.
Tesla uses its massive “Giga Presses” to build two large underbodies for the Model Y, which are then connected to a central underbody comprising stamped sheet metal and aluminum parts. The large-scale casting process significantly reduces parts needed to manufacture automobiles, and several automakers are now taking notice.
Earlier this month, reports noted that Volvo is working with Tesla’s casting machine supplier, while the manufacturing process is also being adopted, or at least tested, by Hyundai, Ford and General Motors (GM).
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