The upcoming BMW i3 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class with EQ Technology will reportedly have some competition out of Japan.
Best Car Web reports the replacement for the Lexus IS mid-size luxury sedan will launch in 2027 with an electric powertrain.
In fact, the Japanese publication reports the next-generation IS will be offered exclusively with electric power, meaning Lexus will no longer have a direct rival for combustion-powered sports sedans like the regular C-Class and 3 Series.
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While the IS was withdrawn from Australia in 2021 as it didn’t meet new safety regulations, it has lived on overseas and even received another facelift for 2026.
However, the Japanese 3 Series rival is showing its age. The current generation entered production in 2013, and though it received a reskin for 2021 its interior wasn’t substantially changed, something remedied with an update for 2026.
Since the launch of the first-generation IS in 1999, Lexus’ sports sedan has sat at a similar price point to the larger, plusher, front-wheel drive ES sedan.
That will continue with the new IS and the new ES, the latter of which was revealed last year.
The ES will continue to offer hybrid power but will also gain an electric powertrain for the first time, available in single-motor front-wheel drive and dual-motor all-wheel drive configurations.
The IS, in contrast, will reportedly feature single-motor rear-wheel drive and dual-motor all-wheel drive EV configurations, with Lexus targeting a power output of up to 368kW and range of up to 1000km – the latter potentially achieved through the use of solid-state batteries.
The new-generation IS will reportedly continue to be smaller than the ES. Best Car Web reports it’ll measure 4790mm long, 1880mm wide and 1395mm tall, compared to the ES which measures 5140mm long, 1920mm wide and up to 1560mm tall.
In addition to having a smaller footprint than the ES, the IS will reportedly wear styling inspired by the dramatic LF-ZC concept revealed in 2023, as well as similar dimensions.
In December 2024, NHK World Japan reported Lexus would introduce a pair of EVs – a mid-size sedan and a large SUV – based on a new modular platform, with the sedan previewed by the LF-ZC concept revealed in 2023.
Back in 2021, Lexus teased what appeared to be a replacement for the IS with the Electrified Sedan Concept.
This concept car had a somewhat more conventional sedan silhouette than the LF-ZC, albeit with a distinctive mix of curves and angles. The side creasing of this concept ended up being used on the new-generation ES.
The Electrified Sport Concept, also revealed in 2021, made way for last year’s almost identical LFA Concept, which is set to presage a production vehicle, while the Electrified SUV Concept ended up accurately previewing the Toyota Highlander EV.
Lexus also previewed an unnamed concept which appeared to be a Shooting Brake version of the Electrified Sedan Concept.
