Toyota plans to develop and produce a new electric SUV under the Lexus brand in China before Japan, marking a departure from the company’s tradition of developing and producing its vehicles first in its home market. According to a report carried by Nikkei, production of the vehicle will begin at Lexus’s new plant in Shanghai, using advanced manufacturing methods, including gigacasting technology.
Limited Production, Then Gradual Expansion
Toyota began construction of the plant in June 2025, saying at the time that the facility would give it what it calls “Lexus speed” to keep pace with Chinese automakers, including BYD. Construction was expected to be completed in August 2026, with the first vehicles scheduled to come off the production line in 2027.
According to details included in the report, production will begin at about 1,000 vehicles per month next year, before capacity is raised to “tens of thousands” of vehicles in 2028. The source does not specify when the vehicle will be launched in Japan or other markets, nor does it provide the model’s name or detailed technical specifications.
Why Is Toyota Choosing China First?
China is by far the world’s largest electric-vehicle market, accounting for about 60% of global sales during 2025, or nearly 100 times the size of the Japanese market, according to GlobalData figures cited by the source. Traditional automakers there face competition from lower-cost domestic vehicles, while Toyota’s sales in China fell to just under 810,000 vehicles during the first seven months of the year, down 18% compared with the same period in 2025.
Toyota is relying on manufacturing technologies such as gigacasting to reduce costs and accelerate production. The source indicates that developing a new vehicle traditionally takes major automakers about four or five years, whereas Chinese automakers have begun developing vehicles in periods that may be no more than two years.
What Is Changing in Practice?
The move is significant because it is not merely about producing an electric vehicle in China; Toyota already manufactures electric models there, such as the bZ3X SUV, through joint ventures with GAC and FAW. What is new is that the upcoming Lexus electric vehicle will be developed and produced in China first, rather than Japan, giving the Chinese market a greater role in the company’s development and manufacturing decisions.
This follows Toyota’s cancellation earlier in 2026 of plans to develop a next-generation flagship Lexus electric vehicle in Japan using similar production methods. Meanwhile, in the United States and Japan, the company continues its “multi-pathway” strategy, which places greater emphasis on hybrid and gasoline vehicles designed according to the needs of each market.
certi.news Analysis
The news points to a reprioritization more than an announcement of a new model. Choosing China as the starting point for an electric Lexus connects development speed, manufacturing costs, and access to battery and production technologies with the company’s ability to compete in the world’s largest electric-vehicle market. However, the source does not provide direct confirmation from Toyota, nor does it specify the vehicle’s specifications or export scope, so the product details and final production schedule still require additional verification. The source also quoted Wang Chuanfu, BYD’s CEO, as believing that his company will surpass Toyota in global sales over the next five years; this is an opinion attributed to him, not an independently substantiated forecast in the article.