Toyota moves production of popular Tacoma pickup from Mexico to the US
The Toyota Tacoma has been the best-selling midsize pickup truck in the United States for more than twenty years, but its current fourth generation is produced exclusively in Mexico at the TMMBC plant in the city of Tijuana. Starting in 2030, the Tacoma will be produced at Toyota’s plant in San Antonio (Texas, USA), into the expansion and modernization of which the Japanese company will invest $3.6 billion.
The transfer of Toyota Tacoma production from Mexico to the United States is a direct consequence of the protectionist policies of current US President Donald Trump. As early as last fall, Toyota announced its intention to invest $10 billion in the development of its business in the United States; the expansion of the San Antonio plant is part of these investments. Last spring, Toyota announced its intention to increase the capacity of its vehicle assembly plants in the states of Kentucky and Indiana. In total, Toyota currently has eleven operating plants in the United States.
The Toyota plant in San Antonio was launched in 2006; today it produces the full-size Tundra pickup and the related body-on-frame Sequoia SUV. The plant’s current capacity is approximately 200,000 vehicles per year. By the end of this year, a rear axle assembly line should begin operating at the plant, and the $3.6 billion investment will go toward the next stage of the enterprise’s development.
By 2030, the plant’s area will approximately double; next to the existing buildings, a new one will appear to house a second vehicle assembly line, capacity will increase by 150,000 vehicles per year, and the workforce will grow from the current 4,000 to approximately 6,000 people. The total volume of investment made by Toyota in the San Antonio plant since construction began in 2003 will reach $8.3 billion by 2030.
The fourth-generation Toyota Tacoma debuted in 2023, and 2025 became a record year for this model in the United States: sales grew by as much as 42.4% to 274,638 units. This year, Tacoma sales in the United States continue to grow: in the first quarter, 143,848 units were sold (+9.9%). At current sales volumes of the Tundra, Sequoia, and Tacoma, the capacity of 350,000 vehicles per year at the San Antonio plant may not be enough to satisfy all demand for these models, so Tacoma production at the TMMBC (Toyota Motor Manufacturing Baja California) plant in Mexico will continue, and some vehicles from there will be supplied to the United States.
Let us add that the USMCA agreement on duty-free trade is in effect between the United States, Mexico, and Canada; it also regulates the required degree of localization for vehicles and auto components intended for the United States. The Trump administration refused to automatically renew this agreement, wanting to make it more favorable to the United States and more reliably shield itself from Chinese vehicles, which are currently actively conquering the Mexican market. In short, thanks to Trump’s efforts, the USMCA agreement may lose its meaning altogether, and major automakers such as Toyota prefer not to wait for the outcomes of Trump’s geopolitical exercises and are preemptively moving production to the United States.
