Toyota announces it will spend $3.6 billion to move Tacoma pickup production line from Mexico to Texas, USA
The company announced on Monday that it plans to invest $3.6 billion to move production of its Tacoma mid-size pickup truck from Mexico to a plant in San Antonio, Texas. Market analysts pointed out that this move comes at a time when the Trump administration has confirmed that it will no longer extend the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trilateral trade agreement and will instead implement a year-by-year review mechanism. Toyota's adjustment is aimed at reorganizing its North American production network and taking advantage of the rising sales of fuel hybrid models in the United States to further encroach on the market. Wait for the market share of domestic American auto giants. According to the plan announced by Toyota Motor, the US$3.6 billion investment will be gradually implemented over the next four years. By then, the San Antonio plant will add a second vehicle assembly line, double the factory area by 2030, increase annual production capacity from the current approximately 200,000 vehicles to 350,000 vehicles, and directly create 2,000 local jobs. Currently, the plant is mainly responsible for producing the Sequoia hybrid SUV and Tundra full-size pickup truck. Tetsuo Ogawa, CEO of Toyota North America, emphasized in a statement that this investment reflects Toyota's confidence in the North American workforce and long-term growth potential. By expanding its San Antonio plant, Toyota will deepen its commitment to American manufacturing. Toyota official data shows that since the groundbreaking of the plant in 2003, the company has invested a total of US$8.3 billion in the plant. This capacity expansion is an important part of Toyota's previous commitment to invest up to an additional $10 billion in the United States by 2030. Regarding the overseas business layout after the production line is moved, a Toyota spokesperson responded that the Tacoma model production line was moved from Mexico. Toyota will maintain its operations in Mexico while the plant moves to Texas. She confirmed that Toyota will continue to build some Tacoma pickup trucks at its Guanajuato, Mexico, plant in the future. Notably, the decision is a complete reversal of Toyota's strategic plan six years ago to move Tacoma production entirely from Texas to Mexico. Analysts pointed out that as the U.S. pure electric vehicle market has shown sluggish growth recently and the demand for hybrid models continues to rise, Toyota, which has long been deeply involved in the hybrid field, is rapidly narrowing the sales gap with General Motors (GM), the largest U.S. automaker. Relevant industry statistics show that in the first half of this year, Toyota's sales in the U.S. market increased by 0.5% year-on-year to 1.24 million vehicles; during the same period, General Motors' sales, which abandoned the hybrid route and fully invested in pure electric models, fell by 6.8% to 1.34 million vehicles. This large-scale expansion of pickup and hybrid vehicle production capacity in the United States is widely regarded as a key move for Toyota to compete for the U.S. auto sales championship.