Toyota isn’t hiding it. The company is dumping $3.6 billion into its San Antonio campus. Big money. They want the Tacoma back on US soil.
The Move
It’s not just talk. Texas gets a second assembly line. The current facility is doubling in size to five million square feet. Two thousand new jobs appear. The workforce jumps to about six thousand people. It’s a four-year shift. Tacoma production moves from Mexico to America. Not all of it. Some stays in Mexico, for now. But the main line comes home.
Ted Ogawa, North American CEO, had to say something official. He did.
By expanding our San Antonio plant, deepening our commitment to American manufacturing and creating sustainable jobs, we advance our mission.
He said it helps meet future customer needs. Standard executive speak, but the concrete underneath is real.
Sharing Space
The Tacoma doesn’t go there alone. It joins the Tundra. It sits next to the Sequoia. They all ride on the TNGA-F platform. The rear axles? Made there too. It’s efficient. Why build the same backbone in two countries?
This isn’t an isolated stunt either. Less than a year ago, Toyota pledged ten billion dollars for US facilities over five years. They mean it. West Virginia got $453 million for hybrid tech. Kentucky saw $204.4 millions roll in for components. Arizona got better testing grounds.
The politics? Unavoidable. Trump slapped a 25 percent tariff on Mexican imports. It stung. Toyota listened. They invested. The trade agreement with Japan opened doors for US exports. Now they’re sending Tundras and Highlanders back across the Pacific. Warning labels attached though—those US-built versions might not match Japanese spec expectations. Irony tastes sweet? Maybe.
Selling Like Crazy
Do they need this space? Yes.
The fourth-gen Tacoma launched for 2024. People loved it. June sales jumped 3.4%. That’s 23,150 trucks moved in one month. Best-seller in the mid-size class. Obvious.
Year-to-date numbers? Over 143k units sold. Up nearly ten percent from last year. If the trend holds, 2026 breaks the record. They could hit 280,001 sales. A historic run.
What drives the demand? Utility. Brand loyalty. And a truck that finally looks modern without losing its soul.
Prices are steep. The entry-level SR XtraCab starts at $34,175 after fees. Add a foot of bed space? Pay up. Top the range? You’re looking at $66,440 for a TRD Pro. Expensive? Sure. Sold? Mostly.
Is the US-made version going to cost more? Hard to say yet. The tariff pressure pushed the move, not efficiency savings. Maybe costs drop over time. Maybe not.
They build the axles in San Antonio now. They build the body. The supply chain shrinks. That has to matter. Or maybe it’s just optics. Let the market decide. The truck rolls off the line. We buy it anyway.
