Dive Brief:
- Toyota Motor Corp. submitted an application on Friday to expand its San Antonio manufacturing campus by building a new $2 billion facility, according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
- The pending plans, dubbed Project Orca, would implement a new complete vehicle assembly line and create 2,000 jobs with an average salary of more than $88,000 per year.
- If approved, construction would begin in 2026 and continue over four years, initially costing Toyota $682.5 million. The facility would open in 2028, starting with 320 employees, and would become operational in 2030.
Dive Insight:
Project Orca is involved in a “highly competitive” and ongoing site-selection process and is focused on choosing a location that offers Toyota “significant financial incentives and ongoing operating efficiencies,” per the Texas Comptroller application.
The company is assessing various factors during its site selection process, including utility infrastructure and expenses, permit fees, transportation infrastructure, access to skilled labor, workforce development commitments and a “favorable tax environment.”
Toyota applied for state and local incentives under the state’s Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation Act, a program that aims to draw large projects and create jobs in Texas.
The economic grants and loans Toyota applied for Project Orca
Construction would need to begin by the end of 2026 to meet “crucial project milestones,” such as starting production in 2030, Toyota added. Project Orca would also need to be co-located with, or in close proximity to an existing Toyota manufacturing plant with access to “sufficient transportation infrastructure.”
No other details were disclosed in the application. However, Toyota said it has shared a separate confidential package with the Texas Comptroller containing more information and the competing sites’ profiles.
“Our production philosophy is to build where we sell and buy where we build,” the company said in an emailed statement on Friday. “We regularly evaluate our manufacturing footprint to ensure we remain competitive and aligned with customer demand. This reflects our long-term commitment of investing in the North American region, local manufacturing/jobs, and suppliers.”
Toyota added that it has nothing further to announce at this time.
The proposed project comes two years after Toyota began building its $531 million expansion at the San Antonio campus.
The construction of the 500,000-square-foot facility, called Project Iceberg, is dedicated to rear-axle assembly and drivetrain components and is unrelated to Project Orca, Toyota said on the application.
The proposed San Antonio facility adds to Toyota’s growing list of U.S. investments. In March, the automaker said it’s spending $1 billion on its Kentucky and Indiana facilities to boost capacity and production of its electric vehicle Camry, Rav4 hybrid and Grand Highlander SUV models.
In November, Toyota announced plans to spend an extra $10 billion on its U.S. operations over the next five years. Most recently, the company also opened its EV battery plant in Liberty, North Carolina.
While Toyota works on its U.S. manufacturing footprint, the company is also anticipating the joint review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which is set to occur on July 1 and could redefine how tariffs or rules of origin are implemented. The company has been supporting its suppliers affected by tariffs at 600 facilities across the country.
