Part 8/9:
Toyota is quietly working to reduce the cost and manufacturing footprint needed to produce electric vehicles. The company's "BEV Development Area 35" aims to shrink the manufacturing footprint and number of parts by 35%. The first Lexus model to benefit from this will debut in 2026, and Toyota expects to use large castings, unboxed assembly, and other techniques to boost productivity and reduce development time and equipment costs by 25%.