Toyota Tacoma history: every generation, from the Stout and Hi-Lux to today's Tacoma and Tundra

Toyota Tacoma and Toyota pickup trucks (Stout, Hi-Lux, T100, Tundra) history

Toyota's U.S. pickup story starts in the 1960s. Toyota's newsroom archive lists a first-generation Stout for 1964–1967, and Toyota's 75-year history says the Hilux, launched in Japan in March 1968 and built by Hino Motors, got a 1.9-liter 3R engine in 1969 for a U.S.-market model. Toyota says that in the U.S., where pickups were in high demand, the Hilux was sold as the Toyota Truck, and its archive switches from 'Hi-Lux Truck' to 'Toyota Truck' with the 1975–1978 generation. Truck beds for U.S.-bound trucks were made in Long Beach, California, from 1972 under a deal with Atlas, which Toyota bought in 1974 and renamed TABC.

Six generations of the Hi-Lux and Toyota Truck ran through 1995. The larger T100 arrived for 1993, and the Tacoma took over from the compact Toyota Truck for the 1995.5 model year. Toyota calls the Tundra, revealed at the Indiana State Fair in 1998 and built at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana (TMMI), from May 1999, its first full-size pickup; it went on sale as a 2000 model. Toyota opened its San Antonio truck plant (TMMTX) in 2006 and moved Tundra production there by 2008; Tacoma production followed in 2010, replacing the NUMMI plant in California.

The Tacoma has been redesigned for 2005, 2016 and 2024. The fourth generation sits on the TNGA-F platform shared with Tundra, Sequoia and Land Cruiser and offers an i-FORCE MAX hybrid rated at 326 hp and 465 lb-ft. Toyota said in 2015 that it had sold more than seven million compact and mid-size trucks since 1964. In January 2026 it said 2025 was the Tacoma's best sales year ever and its 21st straight year as America's best-selling midsize pickup.[1],[2],[3],[4],[5],[6],[7],[12],[13],[14],[18],[19]

Years and production numbers

Generations and key variants

Engine and drivetrain facts

• The 2016 Tacoma's 3.5-liter V6 used the Atkinson cycle, VVT-iW and D-4S direct-plus-port injection, and was rated at 278 hp, 42 hp more than the 4.0-liter V6 it replaced.
• The 2024 Tacoma i-FORCE MAX adds a 48-hp electric motor inside the eight-speed automatic to the 2.4-liter turbo four, for 326 hp and 465 lb-ft. Toyota says that is nearly double the torque of the previous V6.
• The original Tundra's V8 was, by Toyota's account, the first DOHC 32-valve V8 in the full-size segment and the first V8 to earn an EPA low-emission-vehicle (LEV) rating; it could tow up to 7,200 pounds.
• The 2022 Tundra dropped the V8 for a 3,445 cc twin-turbo V6 rated at 389 hp and 479 lb-ft; the i-FORCE MAX hybrid version makes 437 hp and 583 lb-ft.
• Max towing on the 2022 Tundra rose 17.6% over the previous generation to 12,000 pounds, and max payload rose to 1,940 pounds.

Sources:[12],[13],[18],[22]

What changed over the years

1. 1964First-generation Toyota Stout (1964–1967) in Toyota's U.S. archive.
2. 1969Hi-Lux arrives with a 1.9-liter 3R engine in the U.S.-market model.
3. 1972U.S.-bound truck beds are built in Long Beach, California, under the Atlas agreement.
4. 1975The archive begins calling the truck simply the 'Toyota Truck.'
5. 1991First truck rolls off the line at NUMMI in Fremont, California.
6. 1993T100 launches.
7. 1995.5Tacoma replaces the compact Toyota Truck.
8. 1997–1998First TRD Off-Road Tacoma; Toyota's sources give both years.
9. 1999Tundra production begins in May at TMMI in Indiana, for the 2000 model year.
10. 2005Second-generation Tacoma; production starts at TMMBC in Baja California.
11. 2006TMMTX opens in San Antonio to build the Tundra.
12. 2007Second-generation Tundra (2007 model year) adds a 5.7-liter V8.
13. 2010NUMMI closes; Tacoma production starts at TMMTX.
14. 2013TMMTX builds its one-millionth truck.
15. 2015TRD Pro Series Tacoma and Tundra arrive.
16. 2016Third-generation Tacoma with a 3.5-liter V6.
17. 2019TMMGT in Guanajuato, Mexico, begins Tacoma production.
18. 2022Third-generation Tundra with twin-turbo V6 and i-FORCE MAX hybrid.
19. 2024Fourth-generation Tacoma on TNGA-F, with 2.4-liter turbo and i-FORCE MAX.
20. 2025Tacoma's best U.S. sales year ever.

Sources:[1],[2],[4],[5],[6],[7],[9],[11],[12],[13],[14],[15],[16],[17],[18],[19],[20],[22],[34]

What to check before you buy one

• Decode the VIN to confirm the generation, engine and drivetrain. Within a generation, engines changed. The first-generation Tacoma offered a 2.4L or 2.7L four or a 3.4L V6, and the second-generation Tundra a 4.0L V6, 4.7L V8 or 5.7L V8.
• Check the grade. TRD Sport, TRD Off-Road, TRD Pro and (from 2024) Trailhunter Tacomas use different suspensions, so a badge swap changes the price but not the hardware.
• Inspect the frame and underbody, especially on trucks from salted-road states, and look for off-road damage to skid plates, the rear differential and rock rails.
• On a 2024-or-later Tacoma or 2022-or-later Tundra with i-FORCE MAX, confirm the hybrid warranty status: Toyota covers hybrid components for 8 years/100,000 miles and the hybrid battery for 10 years/150,000 miles from first use.
• Run the VIN on NHTSA for open recalls before you buy, and ask for records showing completed recall work.

Model-specific problems by generation are tracked on our Toyota Tacoma known issues page. Engine guides: 4.0L V6 (1GR-FE), 3.5L V6 (2GR-FKS), 2.4L turbo four (T24A-FTS), 5.7L i-FORCE V8 (3UR-FE), 3.4L i-FORCE twin-turbo V6 (V35A-FTS), i-FORCE MAX hybrid.

Toyota Tacoma and Toyota pickup trucks (Stout, Hi-Lux, T100, Tundra) prices and values

Medians of asking prices, not transaction prices; every trim is blended, so performance variants usually sit well above these medians. "Below new median" compares each model year's median used listing with the median listing price of a new 2026 Tacoma today. More in our Toyota Tacoma depreciation study.

Mileage: across 29,346 used Toyota Tacoma listings in our November 2026 study (all model years), the median odometer reading was 55,921 miles and 3.8% showed 200,000 miles or more. See how long a Toyota Tacoma lasts.

How to verify a Toyota Tacoma and Toyota pickup trucks (Stout, Hi-Lux, T100, Tundra)'s factory options

Tacoma and Tundra grades, engines and packages vary widely within each generation. CarWhere checks the 17-character VIN against licensed factory build data and, when it exists, lists the grade, powertrain and options the truck was built with. Coverage is thinner for older trucks.

Standardized 17-character VINs began with the 1981 model year (49 CFR 565), so every Tacoma, T100 and Tundra, and Toyota Trucks from 1981 on, carry one. The Stout, the Hi-Lux and 1970s Toyota Trucks predate that format.[36]

For pre-1981 examples, the data plate and engine stampings carry the original factory codes; a VIN-based build lookup does not apply to them.