According to foreign media reports, Toyota Motor is in in-depth discussions with relevant departments in Shanghai, and plans to build a high-end electric vehicle factory in Shanghai to produce electrified models of its luxury brand Lexus.
This not only marks a major adjustment of Toyota's investment layout in China, but also indicates the possibility of Lexus localization in China.
On June 26, Toyota held a GR Carnival in Shanghai, announcing that it would introduce GR YARAS to China. During the event, Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda appeared in Shanghai and performed a drift performance in the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID.
Subsequently, a Weibo blogger broke the news that "Akio Toyoda negotiated Lexus domestic production in Shanghai, and by the way, he performed a drift, and Lexus is very likely to be wholly-owned like Tesla."
It is understood that Toyota wants to get the same treatment as Tesla, including tax breaks, policy support, land grants, etc., and is 100% owned and can operate directly without the need for a local joint venture partner.
Since January 1, 2022, China's automobile manufacturing sector has lifted the foreign shareholding restriction on passenger car manufacturing, allowing the same foreign investor to establish more joint ventures in China to produce similar vehicle products. This also provides a policy possibility for Toyota to set up a wholly-owned plant.
Since Tsuneji Sato was promoted to president of Toyota Motor Corporation in April 2023, he has seen the electric vehicle business as one of the core strategies of the company's growth. Tsuneji Sato made it clear that Toyota must simplify the structure of its vehicles, take pure electric vehicles as the primary goal, and completely change the way it does business.
In this context, Lexus has been given a leading role in the electrification strategy. "Lexus will not only provide consumers with high-quality BEV models, but also lead the new trend in the luxury EV market through technological innovation and brand appeal," said Tsuneji Sato. ”
Lexus really needs a "new look", with the "involution" of the domestic auto market, the Lexus brand, which has been maintaining rapid growth, has begun to be significantly weak. According to official data, in 2023, the Lexus brand will sell about 181,400 vehicles in China, a year-on-year increase of 3%. As a comparison, as early as 2019, Lexus's cumulative sales in China have exceeded 200,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 25%.
Especially in the process of electrification, Lexus is relatively slow. The all-electric mid-size SUV launched by Lexus in China, the RZ, has a price range of 355,900-459,900 yuan, which is indeed a bit miserable compared to fuel vehicles.
According to the plan, Lexus will achieve 100% electrification by 2035. In Toyota's latest plan, the next-generation BEV (battery electric vehicle) product developed by the BEV Factory will be launched in 2026, and the new product will be the first to be launched in the market starting with the Lexus brand.
In addition, in 2026, Toyota expects to launch 10 new BEV models, with annual sales of 1.5 million units. Of the 1.5 million electric vehicle sales target, a significant part of it needs to be achieved by the Chinese market.
Hiroki Nakajima, CTO, vice president, and executive officer of Toyota Motor Corporation, said in a previous interview, "There is no doubt about the global position of electrification in the Chinese market, and the new models introduced in China will definitely be the majority in the BEV plan by 2026." Therefore, the importance of the Chinese market will not change in our minds. ”
In fact, for the Lexus brand, localization will bring multiple benefits. First of all, localization will significantly reduce the production cost of Lexus, so that its price in the Chinese market will be more competitive.
Secondly, localization will shorten the product delivery cycle and improve the consumer car buying experience. In addition, localization will also help Lexus better integrate into the Chinese market, further understand the needs and preferences of Chinese consumers, and develop products that are more in line with the needs of the Chinese market.
Toyota has long been cautious about producing Lexus in China, mainly concerned about product quality and profit-sharing issues that may arise from domestic production. However, with the changes in the global automotive industry pattern and the rapid rise of China's new energy vehicle market, Toyota has had to rethink this decision.
To sum up, from the sales target of 30,000 units in 2006, to 50,000 and 100,000 units later, and then to the "no localization plan" in 2016, Lexus's localization road always seems to be full of uncertainties. This time, whether Toyota can break the deadlock of localization depends on whether it can build a factory smoothly. After all, Toyota will definitely not give up on China's big cake.
Resources:
1、https://www.nbd.com.cn
2、https://m.jrj.com.cn/home
3、https://www.thepaper.cn