Toyota will open electric car factory with totally foreign capital in Shanghai – Observer

Japanese car manufacturer Toyota signed a cooperation agreement with the municipal government of Shanghai, east of China, to build a new electric vehicle factory, fully detained by foreign capital.

The project of 14.2 billion yuan (1.7 billion euros) will include research and development, manufacture and sales of electric and hybrid vehicles, and will produce models of the top of Gama Lexus, the local Yicai newspaper said on Tuesday night.

It is about second car factory fully detained by foreign capital to be established in Chinaafter the opening, previously, of the “gigable” of the American Tesla, also in Shanghai.

Before establishing its own company in China, the Japanese company had already worked with local partners such as China Faw Group and Guangzhou Automobile Group.

The new factory will be located in the Jinshan area, in southern Shanghai, where preparatory work has already begun.

Construction is expected to start in June this year, with the first vehicles to leave the assembly line in 2027according to the local authorities, cited by the newspaper.

The factory will also produce new generation batteries developed by Toyota, with the objective of reducing production costs and strengthening the company’s competitiveness in the Chinese market.

In recent years, many foreign car brands in China, including several Japanese, have seen sales decrease as local brands, with more affordable electric vehicles, have gained strength both nationally and international.

China is the largest car market in the world for vehicles moved to new energies.

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Almost 11 million hybrid or electric models were sold in the Chinese market in 2024, according to the statistics of the Chinese car manufacturers federation.