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Toyota has filed public disclosures for a $2 billion expansion of its South Side manufacturing facility, fueling industry speculation it may resume production of its Tacoma pickup trucks here.
The expansion could also create up to 2,000 jobs.
The production of those trucks was relocated from here to Toyota plants in Tijuana and Guanajuato, Mexico in 2021 as part of a major restructuring of the company's North American production facilities.
Toyota did not release specific details about its expansion plans on the South Side. They issued only a short statement on how it chooses to locate its facilities.
"Our production philosophy is to build where we sell and buy where we build. We regularly evaluate our manufacturing footprint to ensure we remain competitive and aligned with customer demand. This reflects our long-term commitment of investing in the North American region, local manufacturing jobs, and suppliers. We have nothing further to announce at this time," said the statement released by Melinda Higgins Louder, the manager of corporate communications for Toyota Motor North America.
Moving Tacoma production back to San Antonio makes sense to industry observers because tariffs on foreign imports could affect its sticker price. The company recently opened a new rear axle manufacturing facility on its South Side grounds. Those axles would not have to be shipped to Mexico any longer to be installed in Tacoma trucks.
Erin Keating, an executive analyst for Cox Automotive, with consumer-facing brands like Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader, said it's a pretty good bet the Tacoma is coming back to the Alamo City.
"I'd say there's a solid 50-50 shot that it's the Tacoma," she said. "I mean we know in the U.S., consumers continue to go for the pickups and SUVs, and so anything they can do to help increase the profitability in those particular models will help them continue to either import or sell more of the sedans and compact SUVS, where they don't make as much margin."
Nearly 275,000 of the compact Tacoma pickups were sold by Toyota in 2025, a 42% increase in sales from 2024. Keating said that jump in Tacoma sales is, again, likely due to Americans' love of pickups in general and the reliability of the Toyota brand. The smaller pickup market is also not as crowded with competitors when compared to the market for SUVs.
The Tacoma would also rejoin the Tundra full-size pickup and Sequoia SUVs that are made here.
