Pretty much confirms made in Mexico
Best speculation of a 2023 6th generation I have seen
- Thread starter peter78
- Start date
Pretty much confirms made in Mexico
balong48
New member
I’m still on the Tahara train. Toyota announced they were moving Sequoia production to Texas before they revealed the new generation. Toyota hasn’t said anything about moving 4Runner production. Historically the moves are announced well in advance.
Jetboy
New member
I few observations - interior shot shows low beltline for windows. Big win IMO. And the wiper is still protected under the spoiler. Also a win. I hate the low wiper setup that collects dirt/rocks/etc on top and then scratches the window. Roll down window also a win to keep moving forward. Overall it looks a lot like the current 4R to me. And that's a good thing. I like the 5th gen. Looks like the 6th won't stray far from the path.
I also think Toyota may have just torpedoed the LC250 hype. I can see a lot of early buyers re-thinking the LC250 if the 4Runner is the same thing for a lot less $. And if the 4Runner is coming soon in TRD Pro and Trail hunter trims that are significantly more capable than the LC250 - it's going to make the LC a pretty challenging value proposition. Dropping the 4R right before the first sales are made on the LC250 is a surprising move. Would have made a lot of sense marketing wise to me to wait until the first shipment has sold to max value on those.
I also think Toyota may have just torpedoed the LC250 hype. I can see a lot of early buyers re-thinking the LC250 if the 4Runner is the same thing for a lot less $. And if the 4Runner is coming soon in TRD Pro and Trail hunter trims that are significantly more capable than the LC250 - it's going to make the LC a pretty challenging value proposition. Dropping the 4R right before the first sales are made on the LC250 is a surprising move. Would have made a lot of sense marketing wise to me to wait until the first shipment has sold to max value on those.
Only time will tell.
I can't imagine Toyota shipping dashboards/electronics to Japan for the new 4runner. Tacoma and 6th gen will most likely share other parts.
While the video above mentions Mexico being a pickup based plant, it's still the same platform and they do build short, 2 door, Tacomas.
Btw, did anything in his videos ever came to be?
I sure hope that Giant computer screen isn’t the dash
Toyota would source those interior parts in Japan. Very common to have a Japan supplier for Japan production and US supplier for US production. Toyota already builds the RAV4 in North America and Japan for the US market while effectively having the same interior.
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1986Runner
New member
Agreed. And they’ve done this same thing before with the 3rd Gen 4Runner and 1st Gen Tacoma which were very similar and shared a bunch of parts but built in Japan and the US, respectively. I would bet the 6th Gen production will remain in Japan.
and that is how we end up years later, going on RockAuto for parts, and it depends on if your car is Japan-built, or US-built, for which windshield wipers you need, etc.
Jetboy
New member
It's this interior. 14" screen. Although it probably says 4Runner instead of Tacoma on the dash. Otherwise I'd expect it to be nearly identical across most trims with the likely exception the Limited 4Runner being a level of luxury above the Tacoma. That's been common in every past generation.
balong48
New member
It's this interior. 14" screen. Although it probably says 4Runner instead of Tacoma on the dash. Otherwise I'd expect it to be nearly identical across most trims with the likely exception the Limited 4Runner being a level of luxury above the Tacoma. That's been common in every past generation.
Yeah in the 4Runner picture you can see the volume knob is in the same spot, the start button is in the same spot, and the vents are the same shape as the taco. Even has that half assed excuse of a grab handle. That grab handle is a joke in the new Tacoma.
It works out for the Rav4 because it is also sold in Japan but the Tacoma is only sold in north and south America.
J VIN Rav4s come to the US, too. When I was shopping for a blue flame Rav4 in 2018, every single one of them had a J VIN. The RAV4 engine and transmission plant is local, so I was looking for a blue flame 2 VIN (Canada built and thus WV built powertrain).
Trust me, the 4Runner isn’t going to be built in Japan with NA sourced parts.
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I think you missed the point.
The rav4 is an international model with assembly on both sides of the world to accommodate the international market therefore requiring international suppliers.
The Tacoma and the 4runner isn't international. The 5th Gen was built in Japan because of the established assembly line for its chassis twins, GX and Prado. Since the 6th gen and Tacoma are now twins, it'll only make sense to shift production to Mexico. Why build in Japan now and set up new suppliers to make Tacoma parts for the 4runner? Japan will replace 4runner in Tahara by increasing Prado production because... U.S. Landcruiser.
At the end of the day, it's all about business. I would love for every Toyota to be built in Japan but it doesn't make business sense. Believe me, I hope I am wrong but I don't really care about the 6th gen at this point. I love my 5th Gen.
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balong48
New member
Given all BOF SUVs are GA-F I think it’s probably even easier now to split production across multiple facilities and countries. I can’t imagine there’s many differences between the new Land Cruiser (US) packaging and what the 4Runner will be. I think we will see 4Runner move to Mexico at some point given the increasing similarities with the Taco, I just don’t see it there right away.
I didn’t miss your point at all. It isn’t difficult to source interior components for Japanese production that would mimic Tacoma. It is a lot easier to do that than add vehicle capacity at the Mexico plants. That costs a fortune.
In the end, capacity trumps all. There isn’t room for 100k 4Runners in Mexico* and moving 4Runner to Mexico leaves a 100k hole in Tahara. Tahara is building the GX and LC250 siblings.
*Guanajuato can build 100k, Baja can build 166k. Tacoma was at 235k in a model changeover year. There’s no room for full 4Runner production in Mexico without significant investment in those plants. I’m assuming that 4Runner sales will dip to 100k because Land Cruiser is expected to be around 40k annually. Those will probably cannibalize from 4Runner like Grand Highlander has mostly been carved out of Highlander sales.
I’ve been a manufacturing engineer in quality and production for 18 years now. It’s insane how many decisions are purely driven by capacity and logistics. All the things that could be offered but aren’t because it would require capacity increase that would break the business case. Toyota, IMO, is gunshy about adding capacity unless they are 100% certain there is a need thanks to the hard lesson learned with the Texas plant and the 2nd gen tundra. 200k capacity that was only running at 60% because the economy tanked. Idle equipment and floor space has operating costs even if it isn’t being utilized.
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