Toyota to invest $3.6 billion in San Antonio plant extension, shifting Tacoma production from Mexico to the US
Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) has announced plans to invest $3.6 billion to expand its manufacturing campus in San Antonio, Texas – doubling its size by 2030. Alongside the expansion, Toyota will move production of its Tacoma pickup to the site from its current production home in Mexico.
Toyota will move production of the Tacoma from Mexico to its plant in San Antonio, Texas
Toyota
TMNA's planned $3.6bn investment in the San Antonio site will see the addition of a second vehicle assembly line, on which the Tacoma pickup will be built in the future.
According to the company, the expansion will create 2,000 new jobs and increase the production area by 2.5 million sq. ft – doubling the site's footprint by 2030.
For Toyota, the decision is not only a further expansion of an existing US site, but also a clear signal for stronger localisation of North American production. The Tacoma production is to be relocated over a period of around four years from Toyota’s Mexican plant in Baja California to San Antonio.
As a result, Toyota's Tundra, Sequoia and Tacoma models will all be assembled in Texas in the coming years.
Toyota itself has presented the investment as a commitment to North American production. “Toyota’s continued investment in North America is a testament to our confidence in the region’s workforce, innovation and long-term growth potential”, said Ted Ogawa, president and CEO of Toyota Motor North America.
With the expansion of the San Antonio plant, Toyota is deepening its commitment to American manufacturing while also creating sustainable jobs.
Localisation in an uncertain trade environment
The relocation of Tacoma production from Mexico to the US should, however, also be seen in the context of trade policy uncertainty in North America. In the statement, Toyota explicitly mentions that the company supports a rapid solution in connection with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in order to keep the North American region globally competitive.
This means that the investment in San Antonio goes beyond mere capacity expansion. It fits into a phase in which manufacturers are reassessing their production networks in order to limit risks from tariffs, regulatory uncertainty and possible changes to the trading conditions between the USA, Mexico and Canada. For Toyota, the decision means moving a high-volume model that is important for the US market closer to a central sales market.
At the same time, it remains open what role the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Baja California plant will play after the transition. The planned period of around four years gives Toyota scope to reorganise the future utilisation of the Mexican site and plan possible successor products. Nevertheless, the announcement is a clear example of how trade uncertainty is increasingly influencing location decisions in North America.
Part of a wider trend and commitment to US production
This announcement follows Toyota's commitment in late 2025 to invest a total of $10bn in its US operations by the end of 2030.
Examples of this kind of strategy extend beyond Toyota. Over the past two years, other manufacturers have committed to expanding their US manufacturing footprint in response to trade uncertainty in North America. In a number of cases, OEMs have announced plans to add production of models currently imported from Mexico or Canada to US assembly plants, therefore reducing exposure to USMCA-related trade risk.
GM, for example, announced in June 2025 that it would invest $4bn in its US manufacturing plants over a two-year period. As part of this investment, the company confirmed that production of several Chevrolet models for the U.S. market would be added to US assembly plants from 2027, reducing reliance on vehicle imports from Mexico for the US market.
The Chevrolet Blazer — currently produced in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico — will be added to production at GM's Spring Hill, Tennessee plant from 2027. Similarly, production of the Chevrolet Equinox will be added to Fairfax, Kansas, alongside its existing production in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
While these announcements indicate a shift in production for the US market, GM has not confirmed that production of either model will cease in Mexico, stating instead that its Mexican plants will continue producing vehicles for export markets.
Furthermore, Hyundai's decision to shift output of its Tucson crossover from Mexico to the US in April 2025 in response to US tariffs serves as yet another example of North American trade uncertainty impacting production and supply chain decision-making for OEMs.
Toyota Texas becomes a larger truck hub
Once production of the Tacoma has fully transitioned from Mexico to the US, it will join the Tundra and Sequoia models that are already produced in Texas.
By concentrating an important part of its North American truck and SUV portfolio at the San Antonio site, Toyota strengthen's this campus as a manufacturing hub while also integrating the local supplier network more closely. After completion of the expansion, the local Toyota workforce is expected to grow to around 6,000 employees. In addition, there are 23 suppliers already represented at the site.
With this expansion project, Toyota’s total investments in San Antonio since its groundbreaking in 2003 will rise to $8.3bn. For Texas, the announcement is also seen as an industrial policy success. The state's governor Greg Abbott described the expansion as an investment that would double the plant area, create 2,000 new jobs and further strengthen Texas as a location for modern manufacturing.
The decision is also strategically multifaceted for Toyota. On the one hand, the manufacturer is increasing capacity in a segment that remains important for the US market. On the other hand, Toyota is reducing potential dependencies on cross-border supply and production structures in an uncertain trade environment. The investment in San Antonio thus shows how closely production planning, location policy and trade risks in North America are now linked with one another.
