A report by Automotive News outlines Toyota’s plan to expand its Tijuana, Mexico manufacturing facility (also referred to as Baja manufacturing facility). The plant was upgraded in recent years to produce the latest generation of the Toyota Tacoma for the North American market. However, the demand for Toyota’s midsize trucks and midsize trucks in general continues to rise.
Tacomas are also manufactured in San Antonio, Texas. Both the Texas and Baja facility are currently working overtime in an attempt to meet demand. The new report states that Toyota will invest $150 million dollars in order to expand the Baja facility and hire 400 additional workers. When this plant expansion is completed in 2017 or 2018, it will be able to produce up to 160,000 Tacomas. This is in comparison to 82,000 midsizers that left the plant in 2015.
Why not expand the Texas facility? The answer depends on a multitude of complex factors. The report does not have an answer for this.
Still, the midsize truck segment is growing at a quick pace and all competing manufacturers are looking for ways to increase production. GM is also struggling to meet demand for the Chevy Colorado and the GMC Canyon. Nissan Frontier has shown a recent resurgence in sales, and Honda is ramping up production of the all-new Ridgeline.
It’s a good time to be in market for a smaller pickup truck.
