Are All Toyota 4Runners Made In Japan? Here's What You Need To Know
The Toyota 4Runner is easily one of the most storied and popular SUVs on sale in America today. Although it already had legions of loyal fans, interest in the 4Runner is higher than ever, thanks to Toyota's recent introduction of an all-new sixth-generation 2025 4Runner, the first newly designed 4Runner since the 2010 model year.
As with many Toyota products, a big part of this SUV's appeal is its reputation for longevity, with the 4Runner regularly ranked among the best in class. For lots of Toyota loyalists, that reputation is strengthened when a vehicle is actually built in Japan rather than in a factory in North America or elsewhere.
And Japan is indeed where the 4Runner is assembled, at Toyota's massive Tahara factory in Aichi Prefecture. For decades, having a Tahara-built vehicle has been a point of pride for Toyota fans, but is it possible that Toyota may start building the 4Runner in America, like some of its other SUVs?
Built in Japan, but destined for the US
The 4Runner has changed significantly since its 1984 introduction, but nearly all of the generations have been built at the same Tahara plant. Despite being built in Japan, the 4Runner is not a JDM vehicle, meaning that Toyota doesn't currently offer it to domestic customers in Japan. However, there was a Japanese home market version of the 4Runner known as the Toyota Hilux Surf. It often had different powerplants than its American market counterpart, but the Surf was always based on the same vehicle.
Toyota offered the JDM Hilux Surf until 2009, when the automaker phased out the fourth-generation 4Runner/Surf. Though the fifth-generation 4Runner, which launched in 2010, no longer had a Japanese home market counterpart, it continued to be built in the Tahara plant. That's continued for the new sixth-generation 4Runner lineup, which now includes a Trailhunter model alongside the popular TRD Pro.
Might Honda move 4Runner production to the US?
Of course, Toyota builds more than just 4Runners at the Tahara factory. Since its opening in 1979, the plant's assembly lines have rolled out everything from Celicas and Supras to current models like the Lexus LS and the Toyota Land Cruiser.
But will the 4Runner continue to be built in Japan? With the recent trade war and the looming threat of tariffs causing some car companies to rethink production strategies, one has to wonder whether Toyota might eventually move 4Runner production across the Pacific.
The last several years of the 4Runner have seen some of the highest U.S. sales numbers in the model's history, so it could make some logistical sense to shift production to America. But Toyota has not announced any plans to do so as of mid-2025. So carry on, Toyota purists; for the time being, the 4Runner will continue to wear that vaunted Made in Japan label.