Lexus Investigates Setting Up Its Own EV Charging Network

Lexus made a name for itself when it launched in 1989 by offering unparalleled customer service. Thirty-four years later, the Toyota Motor Corp.-owned luxury brand is dissatisfied with the experiences its initial electric vehicle owners are having trying to charge their cars.

Toyota’s home country is a prime example of a region where EV penetration isn’t going well because of charging infrastructure, Lexus President Takashi Watanabe said Wednesday at the Japan Mobility Show. The company is trying to spin this into a positive, he said, by using Japan as a testbed to accelerate its investigation into what’s going wrong and reduce customer anxiety about EV ownership.