Demand for the popular utility vehicles has outstripped Toyota's capacity to produce them as the Japanese carmaker grapples with supply chain disruptions.

The Japanese automaker will also offer permanent jobs to 1,400 employees currently working there through Kelly Services, as well as to all future employees.

Toyota's new concepts include a sleek GT3 racer, a rugged plug-in hybrid Lexus NX crossover, a hydrogen-powered Lexus recreational buggy and a sporty GRMN Yaris hot hatchback.

Akio Toyoda showed several Lexus-badged EVs at a December event in Japan. But which of them will end up on sale in the U.S., and when, remains unclear.

Keeping the flow of new Toyotas and Lexuses coming to U.S. dealers amid dozens of simultaneous threats falls to two executives who manage it all the Toyota way.

Lexus cars will "express the evolution of the automobile brought about by electrification," the brand's president Koji Sato said.

The RZ will have an all-wheel-drive system that can switch between front, rear wheel drive or all-wheel-drive to improve cornering and road holding.

Akio Toyoda was once called the chief branding officer of Lexus. More recently, he goes by another moniker there: Brand Holder.

The new RZ crossover propels Lexus into the all-electric age as a driver's EV that focuses on responsive driving dynamics as well as everyday utility.

Lexus' only battery electric offering, the UX 300e, chipped in just 5,800 units, a long way from its target of 1 million EVs a year in 2030.

Lexus is sticking with a spindle motif. But going forward, it will be structurally incorporated into the solid body paneling. Say so long to the spindle grille; say hello to the "spindle body."

The fifth-generation Lexus RX repackages the top-selling nameplate on a new platform with four new drivetrains that Lexus says will make it as fun as it is practical to drive.

Lexus' new high-tech yoke steer-by-wire system will be optioned in the upcoming RZ all-electric crossover and offered to U.S. drivers.

Entering the EV era will require Lexus to not only engineer all-electric cars but reengineer the production process that builds them.

The luxury brand has been cast in a starring role in Toyota Motor's $70 billion investment. As part of the plan for Lexus dealers to serve customers and alleviate any range anxiety, gasoline-electric and plug-in hybrids will have a key role.

Four powertrains, including Lexus' first plug-in hybrid, are available on the second-generation NX luxury compact crossover.

In early 2024, Lexus will open a world head office in a secretive mountain complex shrouded in cedar forests. Executives say the facility will not only revolutionize the way Lexus develops cars but speed the brand's shift into the EV era.