Toyota Tacoma production increasing by 60% because of 'exponential' growth

The latest move by Toyota indicates a healthy and hearty midsize truck market. The Japanese automaker announced it would increase production at its Tacoma pickup plant in Mexico by 60,000 trucks a year. Toyota North America CEO Jim Lentz explained the reason for the expansion, saying, "Demand for trucks has grown exponentially."

It's quite a large expansion, as the plant currently builds a bit more than 100,000 trucks a year. Toyota will spend about $150 million and it claims it will add 400 jobs. The increased sales and production is also a further indicator of steadily increasing truck and SUV sales across the board, which may be supported in part by low gas prices.

This is also a good sign for the midsize truck market. The segment has been virtually ignored for years save for Nissan, Toyota, and Chevrolet. Only the latter two have introduced significantly new vehicles in the last few years. Toyota's expansion shows that there's still money to be made and room for growth in the market. For fans of smaller trucks, this could help make the case to Nissan to introduce an updated Frontier, or for Ford to finally green light the new Ranger for sales in the US.

Related Video: