Toyota moves Tacoma production to Mexico in $13B plant project

Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Toyota said Friday it will build its popular Tacoma light pickup truck in Mexico instead of in Texas, but added that no U.S. jobs will be lost in the shift.

The Toyota plant in San Antonio, which also makes the Tundra pickup, will begin building Toyota's Sequoia SUV in 2022. Tacoma production in Texas will end in 2021, and ultimately move to a new plant in central Mexico that is presently under construction. The vehicle is also assembled at a Tijuana, Mexico, plant.

The changes are part of Toyota's restructuring its manufacturing presence in North America, which includes $13 billion in plant investments through 2021.

About $1.3 billion of that investment has been made at a Toyota plant in Princeton, Ind., which will add 550 jobs and assemble Toyota's Highlander SUV. About $1 million will be dedicated to workforce education and a program to teach advanced manufacturing concepts to local high school students.

"Part of Toyota's tremendous success in North America is building vehicles where we sell them," said Christopher Reynolds of Toyota Motor North America "Our $1.3 billion investment at [Toyota Indiana] is further proof that our Hoosier workforce is rededicated to producing safer, high-quality vehicles our customers love to drive."

Toyota has also partnered with Mazda to build a small-car assembly plant in Alabama, with each company contributing $800 million.