TOYOTA SOUTH AFRICA MOTORS
A SOUTH AFRICAN MARKET LEADER
From humble beginnings in 1961, when the late Dr Albert Wessels imported the first Toyopet Stout bakkies to South Africa, Toyota South Africa Motors (Toyota SA) has grown to become an industrial giant and one of the greatest success stories of the South African automotive industry. Today, 50 years later Toyota is a key player in the local motoring industry in 2011 and celebrates its 31st year as the market leader.
Sales of Toyota vehicles in South Africa alone since the formation of the company exceed 3,3 million units. A wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), Toyota South Africa has been fully integrated into the Toyota global supply network with an annual production capacity of more than
220 000 vehicles with approximately half of that production aimed at export markets. South African built Toyota vehicles are found in more than 80 countries worldwide.
Not only has Toyota been the overall market leader in SA since 1980 but it is also one of the country's largest exporter of built up vehicles. The company's various operations cover a site of 79 ha, while employment levels nationally exceed 8 500 team members,withthe majority working shifts in the vehicle production lines in KwaZulu-Natal.
Besides having the huge Toyota manufacturing facility located at Prospecton, south of Durban, more than 50 major auto-motive component suppliers are located in KZN. Many more secondary suppliers provide individual components or raw materials to the manufacturers of components or sub-assemblies for the motor assembly plants.
CONTINUING TO LEAD THE WAY
Toyota SA slogan "Lead the Way" is a bold statement that the company continues to live up to. In fact it has been outdistancing its pursuers in recent times as buyers realise the benefit of buying a long-standing and trusted brand.
Evidence to this fact is the outright sales success of vehicles such as theToyota Corolla, South Africa's best selling sedan, the Toyota Hilux, the country's best selling pick-up and outright best selling vehicle, and the Toyota Fortuner, which is the most popular SUV in the market. Other vehicles, such as the Ses'fikile taxi continue to dominate its market segment. The Aygo, a small car, aimed at the youth market was launched in South Africa in April.
NEW CHAPTER IN TOYOTA SA'S HISTORY
March 4 2008 marked a significant new chapter in the history of Toyota South Africa as the company became firmly established as a true volume exporter of vehicles in TMC's global network. This day marked the official start of volume Corolla exports from the port of Durban to destinations in Africa and Europe. Following a five year multi billion rand plant modernisation and revitalisation programme, the manufacturing facility now boasts the latest in world class automotive manufacturing technologies.
This development marked the culmination of a programme embarked upon jointly by Toyota SA and Toyota Motor Corporation, moving the local company from being purely a local supplier into an effective TMC export base. The expansion was implemented in three phases. The first phase was the export of Corolla to various destinations. The second phase of the export programme saw Toyota SA become a global manufacturing hub for the new Hilux and Fortuner, both vehicles of Toyota's innovative IMV-project. This signalled a four to five fold increase in exports. The third phase came is the high volume export of the Corolla sedan - right - and left-hand drive versions - to Europe and Africa. Toyota South Africa's export programme will assist in boosting total vehicle exports from South Africa significantly.
Almost 50% of the total investment has been spent with local suppliers with established BEE credentials. The programme has resulted in the creation of 4000 new job opportunities. Toyota South Africa's multi-million rand investment in a parts distribution warehouse in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, will create about 800 jobs.
