Lexus ended 2020 by teasing a mysterious, futuristic-looking concept car. At the time, the Japanese automaker gave us a glimpse of the mystery concept's front fascia that featured a unique version of the automaker's spindle grille, previewing a bold new design direction for the brand. Now, Lexus has released a new teaser image giving us a first look at the mystery model's rear. A full-width LED light bar adorns the back along with an illuminated Lexus logo. Wide wheel arches also give the concept a muscular appearance.

According to Lexus, the concept "illustrates our intentions for the future and marking the beginning of the next generation of Lexus." It isn't clear yet if the concept will adopt an SUV body style, but it's expected to ride on Toyota's new e-TNGA global platform and will be fully electric.

We don't have to wait too long to find out, because the mystery concept will debut this spring. Looking ahead, Lexus has also confirmed the concept's radical styling will inspire a future production model that will debut later this year, but we expect the styling will be toned down for production.

More models inspired by the concept will launch next year and beyond. If the production model is an SUV, it will be the second fully electric Lexus SUV sold alongside the UX 300e. While the teaser previews the company's future vision, it was also released alongside the automaker's global 2020 sales figures.

Between January and December 2020, Lexus sold 718,715 units worldwide. Despite the pandemic, overall sales were only down by six percent from the previous year. Not bad at all for a luxury automaker considering these challenging times.

By contrast, sales January-June totaled approximately 304,000, a 16 percent decrease from the previous year at a time when factories were forced to shut down during the pandemic. In July-December, sales were actually up by two percent compared to the previous year with 415,000 units sold thanks to strong sales of the Lexus ES and RX and the new IS and LS. Annual sales in China also reached an all-time high with 225,000 units sold, an increase of 11 percent.