The home of innovation: Lexus moves into new state-of-the-art headquarters

General Guides 

It’s 1989, the “greed is good” Yuppie ideology is still defining itself through material success, the fall of the Berlin Wall has injected a new sense of excitement and hope for the future, and the hedonistic ‘90s are waiting just around the corner. In the midst of all this feel-good decadence, Toyota decides that making reliable and practical vehicles isn’t enough anymore. In a move that would turn the automotive world on its head – in particular, certain German heads – and redefine the idea of a premium car, a brand-new luxury brand is launched: Lexus.

Now, 35 years on, Lexus is celebrating what is undoubtedly a huge success story by completing its move to a brand-new headquarters at Shimoyama, a state-of-the-art, purpose-built development in a mountainside location close to Toyota City in Japan.

For the first time, all Lexus operations (sales, marketing, and planning) have been brought together under one roof, including research and development, along with design. The aim is to streamline co-operation between departments, enabling swift delivery of development prototypes and production models, including the next generation of Lexus cars. Looking at the history of Lexus, that all bodes well for the future.

Lexus is very much part of Toyota, and while that carries a certain degree of conservatism not necessarily found in some of its competitors, it definitely doesn’t mean that Lexus hasn’t produced some truly great cars.

The very first car to enter production, the Lexus LS 400, represented a leap into the future.

With cutting-edge engineering, obsessive attention to detail, and a design ethos that embraced the precision of Japanese craftsmanship, the LS 400 sent shockwaves through the high-end market, threatening the established giants with its blend of understated style, premium equipment levels, quiet and comfortable performance, and levels of efficiency far beyond its contemporaries.

Toyota doesn’t know the meaning of “that’ll do” and that attitude obviously had an impact on Lexus. A rigorous inspection process and attention to detail ensured that the LS400 set the tone for every future Lexus model that would follow.

The ‘baby’ Lexus

When the IS range arrived to take on the likes of the BMW 3-Series and Mercedes C-Class, that same level of quality and precision from the LS400 was introduced into a rear-wheel drive sports saloon that offered all the six-cylinder performance and handling of its rivals. Alongside a beautifully finished interior and a noticeably smaller price tag, the Lexus IS proved it could do anything its rivals could, especially when its “F” department (think Mercedes AMG or BMW’s M-division) created an astonishingly good 5.0-litre V8 monster complete with carbon fibre body kit and more than 400bhp.

The latest hybrid versions of the ES and LS saloon still feature in the current Lexus line-up, the shift to a more SUV-oriented model range has been apparent over the last few years.

A range now defined by the SUV

The new Lexus LBX hybrid compact-crossover is already winning awards, and the rest of the range covers everything from the UX compact SUV to the full-size RX. Every Lexus available to lease today is fitted with the latest full-hybrid or PHEV technology for amazing efficiency, and if you opt for an RZ you can also have all of that Lexus comfort, precision, and luxury in an all-electric full-size SUV.

And as we mentioned at the beginning, every future Lexus model will now be developed in its brand-new, purpose-built headquarters.

Covering more than 6.5km2 and representing a £1.5bn investment on the part of Toyota, the new site includes:

• a series of vehicle bays, designed to emulate the look and feel of the pit garages at the legendary Nürburgring circuit in Germany;
• a “creative collaboration” area and an open-space innovation centre giving people the chance to share ideas and interact close-up with the cars;
• and a brand-new visitor centre to impress anyone who drops in for a cuppa.

The new headquarters is also located right alongside the Shimoyama testing ground which opened in 2021 and includes a high-speed course and a network of routes to replicate the different types of roads and surfaces found around the world.

That’s where the test-drivers will take on the seemingly impossible task of breaking a Lexus. In all probability, unlikely…

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