Toyota committed to invest another $10 billion in the United States, as negotiations on a new U.S.-Japan trade deal moved forward — prompting Pres. Donald Trump to tell troops stationed in Japan, “Go out and buy a Toyota.” In an exclusive report, Headlight.News reports Toyota also is looking for ways to boost U.S. auto exports to Japan.
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda helped launch the company’s new Century brand at the Japan Mobility Show on Wednesday.
Japan has committed to invest $500 billion in the U.S. as part of a new trade deal, according to the White House, and though specifics are still being ironed out, Toyota expects to commit at least $10 billion of that figure, “most of it” going into manufacturing operations, a company official told Headlight.News on background.
Newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi – the first women ever to hold that post – said her government will purchase a fleet of Ford F-150 pickups as part of the trade deal.
Separately, Toyota is studying ways to help balance trade by increasing auto exports to Japan, Headlight.News has learned. That could lead to an easing of restrictive Japanese regulations, but may also see the Japanese auto giant assist American competitors crack into the Asian market.
What’s new
In 2023, Toyota opened up its newest U.S. plant in partnership with Mada.
The U.S. and Japan have spent months trying to hammer out final details of a trade deal first announced over the summer. A factsheet released by the Japanese finance ministry indicated investment projects are being lined up in a variety of sectors, including critical minerals, energy and artificial intelligence.
For its part, Toyota indicated it will move ahead with investments expected to come in at or over $10 billion. The vast majority of that sum will focus on manufacturing operations, a senior spokesman told Headlight.News ahead of the automaker’s news conference at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo.
While specific details have not yet been released, He indicated Toyota will focus on expanding and upgrading existing facilities, the company today operating a variety of plants in places like Georgetown, Kentucky and San Antonio, Texas. But a separate source suggested that another large U.S. facility may be in the works.
The automaker’s involvement in the trade issue could pay off well. Briefly stopping in Japan during an Asian trade mission, Pres. Donald Trump responded to the investment plan in a speech to American troops stationed aboard the USS George Washington stationed there. “Go out and buy a Toyota,” he said.
Toyota looking to help balance U.S.-Japan auto trade
Trump and new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Since setting up its first manufacturing operation in 1984 – a joint venture with General Motors – Toyota has invested approximately $50 billion in the U.S. About 70% of the vehicles sold in the United States are now manufactured domestically, including the Camry, Highlander, Tundra, Sequoia and Sienna.
The automaker also exports more than 40,000 of the vehicles produced in the U.S. annually. As part of its effort to ease trade tensions, that figure could go up, one senior official told Headlight.News.
But Toyota has also begun developing a plan that could see it work with one or more of the Detroit manufacturers, possibly General Motors, to help them increase their own exports to Japan, a well-placed industry said on background.
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Akio Toyoda wants to boost exports of American-made vehicles.
Only a handful of American-made vehicles, such as the Jeep Renegade, have made a dent in the Japanese market.
Akio Toyoda, the chairman of Toyota Motor Corp. and grandson of its founder, has personally stepped into the ongoing trade debate, Headlight.News learned.
At a meeting of its U.S. dealers in Las Vegas in September, Toyoda said he wanted to find a way to increase sales of American-made vehicles to Japan. Only 16,707 were exported to the Asian nation in 2024, less than 1% of the market there. Of those, 9,633 were Jeeps, while General Motors had combined sales of about 1,000 Cadillac and Chevrolet models. By comparison, Japanese brands captured a combined 37.4% share of the U.S. market, Toyota alone holding a 15.3% share.
Toyoda “said he welcomes the competition. It’s a healthy thing,” according to a well-placed source who was at the dealer meeting.
Obstacles to overcome
Among the obstacles, Japanese vehicles are right-hand-drive.
It’s not that American manufacturers haven’t tried over the years. Japanese officials have argued that the low sales number stems from the type of vehicles U.S. brands build – which are typically far too large for buyers in the Asian market. Nearly 40% of the Japanese market is made up of so-called Kei cars. At no more than 11 feet in length, they’re typically about half the size of a full-size American pickup.
But officials also acknowledge that Japanese regulations have made it costly and difficult for American products. In his role as head of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, that well-placed industry insider said, Toyoda is looking for ways to get the Japanese government to ease those regulations.
Separately, Headlight.News was told, Toyoda is considering reaching out directly to American competitors to offer help boosting their exports to Japan. Which companies hasn’t been determined, however, nor have specific plans to increase such exports been worked out. One possibility could involve offering U.S. vehicles through Toyota’s Japanese dealer network.
Reminds me of the deal Biden reached with the Japanese. Opps, sorry, that must have been a dream.
You do realize how much foreign investment in the auto industry WAS committed to under Biden? Or did you dream that didn’t happen? So far, substantially more than what was announced under Trump. The $32 billion Hyundai deal first revealed last spring was actually negotiated under Biden and just handed over for Trump to claim.