Lexus will look to Toyota to help build efficiencies while considering its manufacturing facilities. Though extremely rare, Lexus may share more production lines with Toyota, a move that both automakers have largely avoided. Even so, the upcoming Lexus RZ will roll off the same line that produces the Toyota bZ4X and Subaru Solterra, so there’s a recent precedent for the strategy.
Another solution could involve retrofitting existing production lines with EV-specific components. Watanabe said that hybrid lines could be adapted to build EVs, just as Lexus did with UX production, where the hybrid version is built alongside traditional gas models. Whatever the path, Lexus has an expensive road ahead of it. Updating legacy production facilities can cost billions, as many automakers like General Motors and Ford have discovered.