Toyota Photo: VCG

The Shanghai municipal government signed an agreement with Toyota on Tuesday to establish a new-energy vehicle (NEV) company in the city's Jinshan district, marking the latest step in Shanghai's efforts to expand high-level opening-up.

The signing of the agreement marks a major progress in the implementation of the Lexus NEV project in Shanghai, China's largest industrial city, according to iJinshan, a WeChat account affiliated with a Shanghai broadcaster. The Lexus NEV project is another globally influential NEV initiative in Shanghai following the Tesla Gigafactory in the city.

China is home to a globally leading NEV market, backed up with cutting-edge battery technology and a full-bloom supply chain, which will significantly benefit the Lexus NEV project, Zhang Xiang, director of the Digital Automotive International Cooperation Research Center of the World Digital Economy Forum, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

On February 5, 2025, the Japanese automaker announced plans to establish a wholly-owned research and production company for Lexus electric vehicles and batteries in Shanghai's Jinshan district. The project is scheduled to begin operations in 2027, according to Toyota's official website.

Toyota noted that Chinese market has strong demand for NEVs (new-energy vehicles), particularly EVs, and China leads globally in related technology innovations. Toyota will engage in the application of advanced technologies in areas such as logistics, intelligent autonomous driving, and battery recycling and reuse, while cooperating with enterprises throughout the supply chain.

Prior to the Lexus EV project announcement, Tesla launched production at its new factory in Shanghai of its energy storage system, the first of its kind built by Tesla outside the US, on February 11.  The first batch of Megapack units departed Shanghai for Australia on March 21, according to a statement Tesla provided to the Global Times.

Additionally, on April 15, a total of 3,499 Tesla EVs, including 3,015 new Model Ys made at the Shanghai Gigafactory, were loaded onto a roll-on/roll-off ship in Shanghai. This marks the factory's first overseas delivery of the new Model Y, thepaper.cn reported. 

Global Times