Toyota will build its next-generation battery-electric vehicle (BEV) in China before anywhere else, marking a rare break from the company’s usual practice of debuting new technology in Japan first. The model, to be sold under the Lexus brand, will be produced at a plant in Shanghai starting in autumn 2027, beginning at a modest 1,000 vehicles a month before scaling to tens of thousands annually by 2028. The vehicle will use gigacasting, a manufacturing technique that moulds multiple aluminium body sections into a single large piece, cutting the weight of those sections by up to 20%. This weight reduction offers an estimated boost of around 4-5% to a typical BEV’s driving range, while making the body more rigid and simplifying assembly. Earlier in 2026, Toyota halted development of a separate electric coupe in Japan, redirecting toward the SUV format Chinese consumers generally prefer. The scale of China’s BEV market explains the shift. China accounted for 8.57 million BEV sales in 2025, 60% of the global total and roughly triple Europe’s volume and more than a hundred times Japan’s, according to GlobalData. Despite a backsliding car market overall, local BEV sales are forecast to reach 11.41 million by 2030. In July, retail car sales fell 20.9% year-over-year to 1.46 million units, but the decline was driven almost entirely by a plunge in internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, which collapsed 44%. Plug-in hybrids also fell by 21.1% while BEVs grew 6%, according to China Passenger Car Association data. Like many Japanese automakers, Toyota’s professed multi-pathway strategy towards zero-emissions leans primarily towards hybrids and more efficient ICE for the US and Japan. Increasingly, it is leaning towards BEVs for Chinese consumers, where its existing lineup already comprises an entry-level SUV and a sedan. Leveraging this local expertise for global markets is logical, perhaps