Toyota is preparing to relocate production of one of its most popular models.
Toyota is preparing to relocate production of one of its best-selling models. The automaker announced that by 2030, production of the Toyota Tacoma will move from the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Baja California (TMMBC) plant in Tijuana, Mexico, to its facility in San Antonio, Texas. The Texas plant already builds the Toyota Tundra pickup and the Sequoia SUV.
The decision is driven by several factors. First, the Tacoma remains one of the most popular vehicles on the U.S. market. In 2025, Toyota sold a record 274,638 fourth-generation Tacomas in the United States, and demand continues to grow. In the first quarter of this year alone, the pickup found 143,848 new owners, up 9.9% from the same period a year earlier.
Second, Toyota is adapting to changing conditions in the U.S. auto market. After the Donald Trump administration took office, the United States increased tariffs on imported vehicles and automotive components manufactured in Mexico despite the USMCA free trade agreement remaining in effect. Vehicles assembled in Mexico are now subject to a 25% import tariff when brought into the U.S. if less than 75% of their content originates in North America. Washington says the measure is intended to support the domestic auto industry while also limiting the expansion of Chinese vehicles built in Mexico—which already exist.
Toyota plans to invest $3.6 billion to relocate the Tacoma assembly line and upgrade its San Antonio plant. The investment will increase the facility's annual production capacity from 200,000 to 350,000 vehicles while expanding its workforce from 4,000 to 6,000 employees. The project is part of the company's broader $10 billion investment program in its U.S. operations. Toyota also plans to invest in its plants in Kentucky and Indiana. At the same time, the company does not intend to end Tacoma production in Mexico entirely. Some pickups built in Tijuana will continue to be shipped to the U.S. market.
It's also worth noting that the first half of 2026 has been challenging for the automaker. According to the company's internal data, Toyota and Lexus sold about 4.14 million vehicles worldwide from January through May, down 3.5% from the same period last year. Beginning in February, the company has recorded monthly demand declines ranging from 3% to 7%.
The downturn affected nearly every major market. Over the first five months of the year, sales of the two brands fell to 506,905 vehicles in Europe (-0.1%), 1.199 million in North America (-0.9%), 189,600 in Latin America (-6.5%), 1.195 million in Asia excluding Japan (-5.5%), and 188,373 in the Middle East (-21.2%). The only growth came in Africa, where sales reached 107,267 vehicles (+4.8%), and in Japan, where 655,859 vehicles were sold (+2.3%). In China, sales dropped to 579,419 vehicles (-14.8%), while in Russia, according to Autostat, 12,717 customers purchased new Toyota vehicles imported through parallel-import channels (+98%).
Global production of Toyota and Lexus vehicles also declined, totaling 3.98 million units during the first five months of the year, down 2.1%. The sharpest drop came in Canada, where production fell to 175,600 vehicles—25.6% fewer than a year earlier—largely because of the same higher U.S. tariffs.