Lexus starts construction on EV plant in Shanghai

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Lexus has kicked off construction of an electric vehicle plant in Shanghai’s Jinshan district, according to the local government.

The 14.6 billion yuan ($2 billion) facility, covering a ground area of 1.12 million square meters, will produce 500,000 vehicles at full capacity, the Jinshan government said on its website June 27.

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The government didn’t reveal additional details about the plant.

According to a Jan. 5 statement from Toyota Motor Co., the Lexus factory will launch output in 2027 with initial annual capacity of 100,000 EVs.

The factory, which will operate as a subsidiary, is expected to tap China’s “advanced and mature” local supply chain, logistics network and talent pool to roll out EVs at “China speed,” Toyota said in the Jan. 5 release.

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Lexus started selling imported vehicles in China in 2005. It has long been the fourth-largest luxury brand in the market, ranked by sales, following Mercedes, BMW and Audi.

While all three German brands posted lower China sales in 2024, Lexus’ local deliveries were flat at 181,906.

Toyota currently produces Toyota-brand gasoline, hybrid and battery EVs at joint ventures with two state-owned automakers – China FAW Group Corp. and GAC Motor Co.

In the first 5 months of 2025, it sold 680,040 vehicles under the Toyota and Lexus brands in China, an increase of 7.5 percent from a year earlier, the Japanese automaker said June 27, without breaking down results by brand.

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