Toyota to sell made-in-America vehicles in Japan from 2026 to please Trump

TOKYO – Toyota Motor is going to ship three models produced in America to Japan in 2026 – the Japanese auto giant’s latest gesture designed to indulge US President Donald Trump.

The Camry sedan, Highlander sport utility vehicle and Tundra pickup truck will go on sale in Japan from 2026, Toyota said on Dec 19 in a statement.

The vehicles are produced in Kentucky, Indiana and Texas, respectively.

“Toyota will be able to meet the diverse needs of a broad range of customers, while also helping to improve Japan-US trade relations,” the company said.

As the nation’s biggest carmaker,

Toyota is building on its charm offensive

to try to get Mr Trump to ease the steep tariffs he imposed on Japanese cars and related parts shipped to the US.

In November, Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda donned a red MAGA (Make America Great Again) hat and wore a T-shirt bearing the faces of Mr Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance as he hosted a NASCAR promotional event in Japan.

Mr Toyoda first suggested to then prime minister Shigeru Ishiba in May that American automakers could sell cars in Japan by using Toyota’s domestic sales network. The US-Japan trade deal would end up including a demand for Japan to “open their country” to cars imported from the US.

More recently, Mr Trump said he is paving the way for Asia’s lightweight

“Kei” cars to be made and sold in the US

, despite concerns they are too small and slow to be driven safely on American roads.

Big vehicles are not top sellers in Japan as roads and parking spots are notoriously narrow in the country, which is one reason why cars tend to be smaller there than in the US. BLOOMBERG