A Victory for Trump: Toyota Will Invest $3.6 Billion to Move Production from Mexico to Texas

Automotive giant Toyota Motor announced Monday that it will invest $3.6 billion to move production of its Tacoma midsize pickup truck from a manufacturing plant in Mexico to its assembly complex in San Antonio, Texas, in a move that several experts have described as one expected to create approximately 2,000 new jobs in the United States and significantly expand the company’s manufacturing capacity in the country, representing a victory for President Donald Trump. The decision reverses a strategy announced more than six years ago, when Toyota reported that it would move Tacoma production from Texas to its plant in Guanajuato, Mexico.

The announcement is part of the company’s strategy to increase its investments in the United States by up to an additional $10 billion beyond what was previously planned between now and the end of the decade. The decision comes just days after the Trump administration confirmed that it will not renew the trilateral trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, opting instead to review the pact on an annual basis.

According to the company, the investment will fund the construction of a second vehicle assembly line and will nearly double the size of the current 2.7 million-square-foot complex in San Antonio by 2030, allowing the plant’s annual production capacity to increase from 200,000 to 350,000 vehicles once the project is completed. Currently, the San Antonio plant assembles the Toyota Tundra pickup truck, including its hybrid version, as well as the Toyota Sequoia hybrid SUV.

In a statement sent to various media outlets, a Toyota spokesperson noted that the company will maintain its operations in Mexico while production of the Tacoma is gradually shifted from its Tijuana plant to Texas over the next four years. She also added that production of this model will continue at the company’s plant in Guanajuato. “This investment expands Toyota’s manufacturing capacity and complements our production network in North America,” the spokesperson said.