During President Trump’s visit to Japan on October 28, 2025, he told reporters that Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda had agreed to invest $10 billion in the US after a brief meeting. There was just one problem: Toyota said no such commitment was made during that conversation.
The automaker’s senior executive Hiroyuki Ueda clarified that no explicit investment amount was discussed during the encounter or in earlier talks. Trump also referred to Toyoda as the “owner” of Toyota, which is a bit like calling Tim Cook the owner of Apple. Toyoda is the chairman, a descendant of the founding family, but Toyota is a publicly traded company with millions of shareholders.
What actually happened
Here’s the thing. Toyota did eventually confirm plans for up to $10 billion in additional US investments. But that announcement came on November 12-13, 2025, roughly two weeks after Trump’s claim.
The investment is structured over five years and includes a new battery plant in North Carolina along with expanded hybrid production capabilities. Toyota framed these plans as building on more than $50 billion in historical US investments, positioning the commitment as a continuation of its longstanding American manufacturing presence rather than a spontaneous concession to presidential pressure.
