Toyota Brings Sequoia to Texas, Ships Tacoma to Mexico
Move follows completion of Toyota’s $1.3-billion modernization project in Indiana, realignment based on commonality.
Toyota has been plunking down money over the past few years, with the aim bringing everything up to date for the New ’20s. For example, in 2017, the company announced it would invest $1.3 billion into its plant in Princeton, Indiana, where the Highlander, Sienna, and Sequoia are built. The investment would also bring 550 new jobs to the town of 8,600.
On January 17, Toyota announced the modernization of said plant was complete. However, there was also a bigger announcement hiding in the celebration. According to Reuters, Toyota will realign its North American production by 2022, shipping the Sequoia off to Texas, and sending all Tacoma production down to Mexico.
“Since 2016, the San Antonio plant has been operating at maximum capacity,” Toyota told San Antonio Express News. “The shift will make room for market growth and achieve long-term sustainability of future production in San Antonio.”
According to Reuters, Tacoma production had been split between San Antonio, and the Mexican cities of Tijuana and Guanajuato for the past few years. The Tijuana plant had been exclusively assembling the popular mid-size pickup since 2004, while San Antonio joined in starting in 2011. Guanajuato, meanwhile, began Tacoma production last month.
The Sequoia will join the other truck built in San Antonio, the full-size Tundra, starting in 2022. This move includes a $391-million investment to upgrade the plant to focus on full-size truck and SUV production, according to San Antonio Express News. The company received $19 million in tax incentives from the city and county governments last spring, in the hope such an investment would mean more jobs.
Meanwhile, the Tacoma will leave Texas by the end of 2021. No jobs will be lost in the move.
The only rig not going anywhere in the realignment is the Highlander, which will stay with the Sienna in Indiana. Toyota told Reuters the realignment was designed to “improve the operational speed, competitiveness and transformation at its North American vehicle assembly plants based on platforms and common architectures.”
Reuters adds that a new trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico approved by the U.S. Senate January 16 guarantees no manufacturer will suffer punitive tariffs for building vehicles in Mexico, including Toyota.
Photos: Toyota
