Toyota’s San Antonio production plant currently employs some 3,700 people. Credit: Courtesy Photo / Toyota

Toyota Texas will spend $531 million to expand its San Antonio manufacturing site and create 400 new jobs, company officials said Friday.

The new 500,000-square-foot addition to the sprawling South Side plant will produce drivetrain parts for the nearly 20-year-old facility. 

“Our team members are ready for this new opportunity to grow our plant’s capabilities and workforce,” Toyota Texas President Susann Kazunas said in a written statement. “They are highly capable, innovative and have a steadfast commitment to our products. We are proud to celebrate that spirit and the long-term job stability the investment represents, and we are excited to welcome 400 new team members to Toyota Texas.”

Toyota’s San Antonio plant assembled more than 181,000 vehicles last year. The Japan-based automaker’s total investment in the site has grown to more than $4.7 billion, officials said.

The company’s announcement follows San Antonio City Council’s approval Thursday of an incentives package that includes reinvesting a portion of property taxes from the new investment into public infrastructure around the plant.

“Toyota has paved the way for other major advanced manufacturing investments, including major investments by Navistar and JCB, which we welcomed to the South Side earlier this year,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in an emailed statment. “All of these developments further cement the understanding around our state, our country, and the world, that doing business in San Antonio is good, and that most importantly, we have the people here with the skills and talents to meet a company’s needs.”

San Antonio’s Toyota plant currently has 3,700 current direct employees. Another 5,600 are employed by the facility’s on-site suppliers.

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Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current. He holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative...