Toyota to build Tacoma in $3.6B San Antonio expansion
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Toyota's plant on San Antonio's South Side. Photo: Courtesy of Toyota Motor North America
Toyota's San Antonio plant will manufacture the popular Tacoma pickup under a $3.6 billion expansion.
Why it matters: The 2.5 million-square-foot expansion will double the size of Toyota's South Side campus by 2030 and create 2,000 jobs.
- The move allows the Japanese carmaker to sidestep uncertainty regarding U.S. trade policy with Mexico and Canada, and will no doubt please the Trump administration, which has been pressuring automakers to build more vehicles in the United States.
The latest: Toyota Motor North America announced Monday it will add a second vehicle assembly line in San Antonio, where the Tacoma — the top-selling mid-size pickup in the U.S. — will be built alongside the Tundra, Sequoia and rear axles.
- Tacoma production will shift from Toyota's Baja California plant over the next four years.
Flashback: Toyota broke ground on its San Antonio plant in 2003 and began producing Tundra pickups in 2006. The Sequoia joined the production line in 2022.
Between the lines: The announcement follows a June City Council vote approving about $143 million in incentives to help secure the project.
- In return, Toyota agreed to create 2,000 full-time jobs paying at least Bexar County's average wage and make a good-faith effort to hire at least half of those workers locally.
- Bexar County later approved a separate 10-year, $55.3 million property tax abatement and workforce development grant.
By the numbers: The plant assembled more than 197,000 vehicles last year.
- The expansion will bring Toyota's total investment in its San Antonio operations to $8.6 billion since breaking ground in the city.
Zoom in: Toyota officials said they selected San Antonio after what they described as a "highly competitive" site selection process but did not disclose which other locations were under consideration.
What they're saying: "The 2,000 acres of South Texas ranchland our plant stands on today was purposefully selected for its ability to scale with vehicle demand, and today marks the first step toward realizing that potential," Frank Voss, president of Toyota Texas, said in a statement.
- Sarah Carabias Rush, president and CEO of Greater SATX, called the project a "transformational expansion" that reflects "the competitive strength of our skilled workforce."