TOKYO — Toyota is considering adding new vehicles to its expanding Texas truck plant as it reworks its North American footprint to rekindle “strong growth” following a quarterly regional loss tied to tariffs and new model launches, including the redesigned RAV4.

The overhaul could bring a new nameplate to the San Antonio plant’s added line, which is already slated to build the Tacoma midsize pickup.

“If it is the same type of frame vehicle, there’s a possibility that other models can join in this new Texas No. 2 plant in the future,” CFO Yoichi Miyazaki said Nov. 5.

Toyota announced a $3.6-billion capacity expansion at San Antonio in July to bring Tacoma production to the U.S. from Mexico.

“Moving forward, we will return to a strong growth trajectory,” he said.

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To further shore up North American profitability, Toyota is reassessing its U.S. stance with an eye to future trends in electrification, autonomous driving and robotics, Miyazaki said while delivering financial results for the fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30.

The strategy overview came the same day Toyota appointed Mark Templin as its new CEO for North American operations. Templin takes over from Tetsuo Ogawa on Jan. 1.

Miyazaki said North American operating profit was partly undercut by the switchover to the redesigned RAV4, which is ramping up output with an all-hybrid powertrain. Through October, sales of Toyota’s best-selling U.S. nameplate tumbled 26 percent to 293,552.

What is Toyota’s strategy for reviving North American operations?

Tariffs also continued to weigh on profitability.

All told, Toyota’s North American operating loss totaled ¥19.2 billion ($121.3 million) in the July-September period, narrowing from ¥46.7 billion ($295.1 million) a year before.

For the full fiscal year ended March 31, North American slumped to a ¥192.5 billion ($1.22 billion) operating loss amid the upheaval. Toyota offered no regional forecast for the current fiscal year.

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Toyota is reinforcing its North American business as legacy automakers increasingly lean on the world’s second-largest auto market to offset slumping sales in China. Toyota and Lexus retail sales in China declined 25 percent to 685,000 in the company’s April-September fiscal first half, as the Japanese automaker’s regional operating profit there fell by more than half.

The San Antonio expansion will add approximately 2.5 million square feet to the 2.2 million-square-foot Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas plant. The new facility will have planned capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year, Toyota said. The Texas truck plant built 197,506 Toyota Tundra full-size pickups and Sequoia large SUVs in 2025. Tacoma output is expected to start in 2030.

Meanwhile, Toyota is buttressing North American profitability by raising prices, reducing incentives, introducing more high-margin hybrid vehicles and reconfiguring parts procurement to offset tariffs.

Toyota expects to trim its tariff tab by about ¥210 billion ($1.33 billion) this fiscal year, through government refunds and rejiggering its supply chain. But the company still forecasts tariffs to cost it ¥1.1 trillion ($6.95 billion) through March 31.

Miyazaki outlined the North America strategy as Toyota reported a 34 percent gain in quarterly global operating profit and raised its full-year forecasts for operating profit and net income.

Parent-company operating profit jumped to ¥1.13 trillion ($7.14 billion) in the three months ended Sept. 30, from ¥839.5 billion ($5.31 billion) the year before.

Toyota’s global consolidated sales declined 0.3 percent to 2.36 million in the period, losing ground in North America and Asia. European sales advanced 2.6 percent to 282,000 vehicles.

Toyota raises profit outlook for current fiscal year

Toyota raised its fiscal-year earnings outlook, citing beneficial foreign exchange rates, cost containment and lower incentives.

Toyota lifted its operating profit outlook to ¥3.9 trillion ($24.65 billion), from an earlier outlook of ¥3.4 trillion ($21.49 billion) for the current fiscal year.

The new target is an increase over the ¥3.77 billion ($23.83 billion) Toyota booked in the previous fiscal year and would be Toyota’s third highest on record.

Toyota also raised its net income forecast to ¥3.57 trillion ($22.56 billion) from an earlier target of ¥3.25 trillion ($20.54 billion). That is down from ¥3.85 trillion ($24.33 billion) in the last fiscal year.

The company kept its global sales forecast unchanged at 9.7 million vehicles on a consolidated basis in the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2027. The goal represents an increase over the 9.60 million it sold in the fiscal year ended March 31.

Toyota trimmed its North American sales forecast 0.7 percent to 3.0 million vehicles, from 3.02 million vehicles. The new goal is still slightly higher than the 2.93 million it sold the previous year.

Toyota also lowered its Asia sales forecast 2.2 percent to 1.74 million in Asia, on sliding volume in China. The new target is down from 1.759 million sold last year. It kept its European target unchanged at 1.22 million vehicles, up from 1.18 million the year before.

On a retail basis, Toyota cut its outlook to 10.99 million for the current fiscal year, from an earlier 11.18 million. That is down from last year’s record sales of 11.3 million. But last year’s tally included 109,000 from truck maker Hino, now spun off and no longer counted in Toyota’s total.