Build factories like Tesla's sole proprietorship
The "domestic" Lexus may be coming, but it's not a petrol car.
Toyota Motor Corp has decided to build a new factory in China and has identified the site for the plant to produce electric models for its luxury Lexus brand, Japanese media Nikkei reported.
Different from the previous joint venture, Toyota will build a 100% wholly owned foreign factory in China, just like Tesla's Shanghai factory.
So far, Toyota has not responded, and Lexus China said, "unofficial news, no comment."In fact, as early as June, there was news that Toyota was negotiating with relevant departments to invest in the construction of a 100% owned Lexus factory in Shanghai similar to Tesla's factory in China.
According to people familiar with the matter, Toyota hopes to win similar treatment to Tesla China, from tax incentives to policy support, from land use rights to the need for local joint venture partners, Toyota almost wants to copy all the favorable conditions for Tesla to build a factory in China. However, the negotiations at that time were far from the final stage, and there may be changes.
Now the latest news, further confirmed the possibility of building the factory, according to the Nikkei news report, Toyota has identified the construction land of the factory in Shanghai, and it is expected that the factory will be put into operation around 2027, the specific time and location of the factory has not been revealed.
The factory will specialize in the production of Lexus electric vehicles, which will also have a Chinese logo on the rear, and plans to use more than 95% of local components in China, and the production of new cars will be sold in Japan and other overseas markets at the same time.
If successful, Toyota will be the first Japanese car company to build a factory in China and the second foreign-owned company to build a factory in Shanghai after Tesla.
In the course of Toyota Motor Group's electrification, Lexus plays the role of "vanguard" in the internal transformation.
According to the "electric vehicle first" strategy promoted by Toyota CEO Koji Sato since taking office, Toyota is expected to invest in 10 pure electric vehicles by 2026, with annual sales reaching 1.5 million units, and by 2030, pure electric vehicle sales reaching 3.5 million units, while Lexus is defined as an "electrification pioneer."
In Toyota's plan, Lexus will eventually transform into a pure electric brand, and starting in 2026, Toyota will develop new electric vehicles for Lexus using a special manufacturing platform for electric vehicles, which can be used to build various models.
It is expected that by 2030, all its models will provide pure electric versions, and achieve 100% pure electric model sales in China, North America and Europe, with the target global sales volume of 1 million. By 2035, it will be completely transformed into a pure electric brand.
In addition, from the sales point of view, Lexus is also a relatively "strong" brand in Toyota's Chinese system, although the performance is declining in China, but compared with other Nissan car companies, Toyota's situation is much better. In 2023, Toyota's overall sales in China fell by only 2%, while Lexus brand sales bucked the trend by increasing by 3%.
From January to October this year, only 580,000 cars were imported, down 9% year-on-year. But in the midst of this gloom, Lexus's performance is particularly notable - with 149,000 units sold, achieving a 7 percent year-on-year increase, ranking first in imported car sales.
Koji Sato also said that "the Chinese market will play a very important role in the process of Lexus' electrification transformation."
Lexus is also ready for the model, this year's Beijing Auto Show, Lexus has exhibited two new concept cars, respectively, LF-ZC and LF-ZL, both models are the blueprint for the subsequent new electric models.
Not long ago, Toyota has applied for the registration of a new SUV patent drawing at the State Intellectual Property Office, which is the production version of the previously released Lexus LF-ZL pure electric concept car. The new car positioning flagship class, body size standard M9, up to 5300×2020×1700 mm, in addition to the car height is slightly inferior, the rest of the dimensions are beyond the M9.
Modular body structure, equipped with the latest prism battery, known as the driving range can reach 965 kilometers, equipped with 12.8-inch center control screen, with AI system can automatically learn driving habits, and this production model will be released after 2026, which is also in line with Toyota in the domestic factory after production time node.
In fact, Toyota wants to emulate the "Tesla model" to promote the process of electrification, it is not surprising, since the production in 2019, the effect of Tesla Shanghai factory is obvious to all, the first three quarters of 2024, Tesla Shanghai factory has delivered 676,000 vehicles, accounting for more than half of Tesla's global delivery in the same period.
Tesla can achieve today's results, Tesla's Shanghai factory is largely responsible, and Toyota obviously wants to use China's supply chain advantages to quickly promote the development of its electric vehicle business. In other words, Toyota's wholly owned electric vehicle factory in Shanghai may not make economic sense in the short term, but it is an important long-term strategy.
Today, Volkswagen and Audi have used China's research and development strength to develop cooperative models, and Toyota wants to make up for the electrification, the best teacher is of course the Chinese market.