South African-built Toyota Corolla heads to Europe
The South African subsidiary of the Toyota motor company is expected to export its locally produced Toyota Corollas from Durban to Europe from next year. This is a movement established to build the KwaZulu-Natal economy.
The decision followed a meeting on Wednesday in Tokyo, Japan, between the provincial government and Toyota representatives.
Toyota Motor Corporation vice president Katsuhiro Nakagawa said that Toyota South Africa would produce Corollas specifically for export to Europe. The statement was made at the meeting with KwaZulu-Natal Prime Minister Sbu Ndebele.
In his statement, Mr. Nakagawa announced that almost 50 engineers had already been sent to South Africa to help with the manufacturing of the vehicles. He said Toyota is determined to produce more vehicles in South Africa for export to other countries, which is vital to the South African economy.
In addition, he said they also wanted a bigger presence for Japanese auto parts suppliers in South Africa, as the country was seen as the gateway to the rest of the continent. According to him, they want their South African plant to be more competitive compared to Toyota plants in other countries.
It recognized that worker training would be necessary to achieve this, in a bid to ensure the competitiveness of its South African plant. He said that if they train more workers, more auto parts supply companies will go to South Africa.
He also explained that they planned to set up a Toyota training school in South Africa, which would benefit the company’s employees and create a much-needed skills base for growth.
Production of the latest model of the Toyota Corolla in South Africa is in full swing and will be launched in August this year.
In his speech, Mr. Nakagawa further said that they are striving to introduce new Toyota models which will also be produced in South Africa.
The Ndebele Prime Minister thanked the company for the security shown to South Africa, in particular to KwaZulu-Natal. He said they appreciate the new investment of more than R4 billion in the Prospecton plant in Durban. But he would also like to see Toyota producing other auto components in KwaZulu-Natal.
Mr. Ndebele said that they would greatly appreciate and welcome the development of an Automotive Supplier Park in the province, as it is important to accelerate the training of the current and future workforce.