Toyota’->ke88s Georgetown, KY assembly plant is the center of a rags-to-riches story. Back in 1987, the plant started producing the Toyota Camry->ke246 for the U.S. market. Now, 28 years later, the very first U.S-built Lexus->ke47 – the ES 350 – has rolled off the line, marking the beginning of Lexus production here in the U.S. This amazing milestone for Lexus was celebrated with an unveiling of the ES 350->ke280 at a ceremony that included thousands of team members from the Georgetown plant.

Wil James, President of Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc., said, “To be the first wholly owned plant, building the number one best-selling car in America, the Camry, for 13 years in a row, and then to be selected to build the first Lexus is truly a tribute to our team members.” He continued, “This is really a proud moment for us and brings us full circle.” This is all great news for the brand and for Kentucky’s economy, but it wasn’t exactly easy for the Georgetown plant to get to this point.

In preparation to build the ES 350, team members took on a total of 1.5 million hours of training, including driving the ES, dealership visits, and even trips to Japan to learn Lexus craftsmanship. The plant even purchased 22 new ES 350s from a local dealer and spent countless hours disassembling and reassembling them. The new ES 350 line pushes the plant’s capacity to more than 550,000 vehicles a year and has boosted its workforce to more than 7,500 employees.

Continue reading for the full story.

Why it matters

Toyota introduced the Lexus brand to the U.S. back in 1989, and has been importing it ever since. The Georgetown plant was picked as the first facility to produce Lexus because it's known as one of the best vehicle manufacturing facilities in the world – at least according to Jim Lentz, the CEO of Toyota North America. In the end, I think it's a good move for Toyota to produce the ES 350 here in the U.S. Lexus is a rather popular brand, and it should be built by those who enjoy driving them.

Lexus ES

Read more about the Lexus ES here.