Toyota Motor Corporation announced that it plans to invest an additional US$ 3.6 billion in its San Antonio plant in Texas, US, in the next few years, as the Japanese automaker looks to strengthen its manufacturing operations in its largest global market.

The automaker’s local subsidiary, Toyota Motor North America, confirmed that the new investment will include building a second vehicle assembly line at the plant, as well as “further enhancing Toyota's locally rooted and competitive production system.”

The San Antonio plant has a production capacity of around 200,000 vehicles per year, producing the full-size Tundra pickup truck, including hybrid variants, and the full-size Sequoia hybrid SUV.

The new production line is scheduled to begin operations in 2030, creating an additional 2,000 new jobs directly and increasing the plant’s overall production capacity by 150,000 units to around 350,000 units.

Toyota also confirmed that it plans to transfer production of the Tacoma mid-size pickup truck from its Baja California plant (TMMBC plant) in Mexico back to the San Antonio facility over “an approximate four-year period,” after it was transferred to Baja California from San Antonio in 2021.

The automaker said the investment “represents Toyota's ‘best-company-in-town’ approach, contributing to the local community and continuing to offer diverse options tailored to local needs through a multi-pathway approach.”

A number of Japanese automakers have increased their investments in the US since the Trump administration introduced import tariffs last year, including shifting production from Mexico and exporting vehicles from the US to Japan.

Local reports suggested that the state of Texas, Bexar County and the City of San Antonio have offered an incentive package worth over US$ 300 million, in the form of property tax incentives, infrastructure support and various grants, for Toyota to increase its investment in San Antonio.