Toyota Motor Co. is earmarking $391 million worth of investment for its Texas plant to boost the production of its midsize Tacoma and full-size Tundra pickups. Both models were previously announced to be moving onto the same platform for their upcoming generations.
According to the automaker, “advanced manufacturing technologies” will be introduced to its production line prior to the official transfer of the two pickup models to the F1 platform, which is expected to take place over the next four years.
The Tundra and Tacoma will be the first two pickup trucks from the Toyota lineup to be housed by the F1 platform, but all truck models from Toyota’s entire global lineup will follow suit.
The announcement of the $391 million investment was preceded by a formal request by Toyota for a 10-year, 80 percent tax abatement. In July, the request was approved by Bexar County commissioners.
Amid the boost in production, however, a spokesman for Toyota Motor North America said no additional jobs are anticipated at the 16-year-old, body-on-frame plant. Instead, the investment will be used to fund additional robotics and other technologies.
At present, Tundra and Tacoma trucks are built in sequence in San Antonio, Texas, while two other plants in Mexico also cater to the assembly of Tacomas. But having both models built on different platforms right now makes the job more complex for Toyota plant workers, which is why the introduction of the F1 platform is a welcome idea.
By 2021, Toyota is expecting to complete the development of the pickups under the F1 platform, with the 2022 model year version of the Tundra being the first to roll out. The Tacoma is slated to transition in 2023 for the 2024 model year. But other than the rough scheduling, Toyota has not shared any other information about the shared platform save for the pledge on hybrid technology for all models by the company’s executives.
Including this recent investment, Toyota Motor North America says it has invested more than $3 billion into its plant in San Antonio.
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