Toyota recently made a big announcement with regard to the production of several of its highest-selling models. First on the list is the Toyota Tacoma, which has been enjoying immense popularity as of late.
The automaker revealed the Tacoma will cease production at the company’s plant in San Antonio, Texas by late 2021. Instead, the majority of the future Tacoma vehicles will be built in Mexico. This is to give way to the production of the Toyota Sequoia that will move from Princeton, Indiana to Texas.
The Tacoma’s move to Mexico will also allow Toyota to increase the production of the truck to meet growing demand from consumers.
According to the company, the new plant in Guanajuato, Mexico is capable of producing about 266,000 Tacomas annually.
In 2019 alone, Toyota sold almost 249,000 units of the Tacoma in the United States, a 1.2 percent increase from the previous year.
The automaker believes that moving Tacoma’s production to Mexico will “improve the operational speed, competitiveness, and transformation at its North American vehicle assembly plants based on platforms and common architectures.” It is also expecting Guanajuato to roll out an additional 100,000 Tacoma trucks every year.
Despite the huge change in production plants, Toyota is not making a single job cut at any of its factories. Instead, the production modernization plan worth $1.3 billion is creating 550 jobs in Indiana, which will shift its focus to minivans and mid-size SUVs upon the departure of the Sequoia.
Toyota’s announcement came a day after the U.S. Senate approved the new North American trade agreement ensuring automakers who make business in Mexico won’t face tariffs.
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