A Brief History

Lexus is part of Toyota and it was founded in 1989. The brand has gained significant exposure worldwide, and by 2003 the first Lexus was built in Canada, at their Ontario plant. Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) was specifically designed for the production of the RX models, making it the first plant outside of Japan to manufacture Lexus cars.

It is important to note that the brand was designed around the same time that Honda and Nissan manufactured the Acura and Infinity brands. There were also voluntary export restraints imposed by the Japanese government for the US market, so it was more profitable for automakers in Japan to export expensive cars to the United States. In 1983, Toyota decided they are going to issue a challenge `to build the world's best car’ and the project was named F1, an impressive V8 powered model.

The IS line was introduced in 2000, as well as the first convertible. In 2002 they launched the GX 470, which was a midsize SUVs, as well as the RX 330 in 2003. Lexus also achieved a milestone the following year, by recording it's two millionth vehicle sale in the United States.

In 2005, Lexus split away from their parent company Toyota, and this means they had a dedicated engineering, design and manufacturing center. The aim was to increase sales in all parts of the world and it proved to be a huge success. Some after most popular models include the IS200 launched in 2005, as well as the LFA originally launched in 2012. The company also has a range of motorsports vehicles, which proved to be highly successful and performance driven.

Lexus Motor Sport

The company is heavily involved in motorsport. They started out in 1999 and the team achieved its first victory in the same year. After the brand was released in the Japanese market in 2005, they added four cars in the Super GT series to enter the Japanese Grand Touring Car Championship. In the very first race in 2006, they took pole position with the SC 430. They had yet another win in 2007 and had quite a few subsequent ones after that. in 2009, the Super GT, as well as the IS350, won the GT300 and the GT500 championships.

Lexus remains a brand synonymous with performance. Not only do they manufacture reliable cars, but their performance engines are being used by various other automobile brands. With production plants around the world and a continuous growth, this is one car company that is set for success.