The first-generation LS debuted in 1989 with the monumental goal of shaping the Lexus brand. It built the foundation of Lexus by its exceptional quietness, comfort and refinement, and each subsequent generation has embraced the spirit of constant innovation through new technology. The 2022 LS 500h flagship luxury hybrid sedan will continue this trend as the first vehicle in the US lineup to offer the all-new Lexus Teammate® advanced driver assistance technology on all-wheel drive (AWD) models.
Developed based on the Mobility Teammate Concept, Lexus Teammate is built on the belief that people and vehicles can work together in partnership to help achieve safe, convenient, and efficient mobility. Lexus Teammate on the LS 500h with AWD provides two functions: Advanced Drive and Advanced Park.
Advanced Drive
Advanced Drive is designed to accurately detect driving conditions to plan and execute acceleration, braking, and steering commands to maintain the vehicle within the lane, follow other vehicles, change lanes, navigate certain interchanges and traffic jams and overtake slower vehicles. Advanced Drive supports SAE Level 2 functionality that allows for driving on limited-access highways with partial hands-free, eyes-on-the-road operation. This feature can benefit the driver by reducing fatigue over long periods of driving and enabling the driver to pay better attention to the surroundings for greater safety.
Advanced Park
Advanced Park assists the operations necessary for hands-free safe and secure parking by automatically controlling steering, acceleration, braking, and gear changes when parallel parking or backing into a parking space. Using 360-degree sensing, which integrates the functions of complete-circumference cameras and ultrasonic sensors, the system also provides a bird’s-eye view display to allow the driver to check the vehicle’s position relative to any obstacles during Advanced Park operation.
“We are very proud of Lexus Teammate, which is the culmination of five years of close collaboration between our technical centers in Japan and the US. We conducted simultaneous development and rigorous testing in both markets with the goal of achieving industry-leading advanced driver assistance functionality,” says Derek Caveney, executive engineer at Toyota Motor North America’s Integrated Vehicle Systems team.
More information regarding Lexus Teammate functionality will be made available later this year. The 2022 LS 500h AWD with Lexus Teammate and LS 500 are expected to arrive in dealerships later this Fall.