Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) hosted President Cyril Ramaphosa at its manufacturing plant in Durban on Tuesday, October 26. The President – accompanied by a few other public officials, including the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel joined Toyota in celebrating the opening of the new Corolla Cross production line in Prospecton, KwaZulu-Natal.
According to Motorpress, TSAM’s newest production line affirms the company’s investment commitment to the South Africa economy and the local automotive sector.
In his remarks, President and CEO of TSAM Andrew Kirby noted: “If you tally up the investments we’ve made in this plant spanning the last five years -“ of which Corolla Cross accounts for R2.6 billion, we arrive at a cumulative figure of over R6.5 billion. So, we are therefore committed to further developing and strengthening our business in South Africa and making a difference in the country, our communities, our suppliers, dealers, customers and of course in own employee’s lives.”
The introduction of the Corolla Cross model has created a total of 575 new jobs at the TSAM plant, while over 1200 direct jobs were created in the component supply base. Another focus that was highlighted during the project, was to maximise local content for this model.
This resulted in the localisation of 621 parts with 56 local suppliers -“ 16 of which are Black-owned. The economic contribution with TSAM’s local suppliers for this project is over R1.4 billion per annum.
To mark the official opening of the event for TSAM, President Ramaphosa had initially officiated a ribbon-cutting ceremony -“ flanked by Andrew Kirby; Imai-san; Nigel Ward; Minister Patel and other regional public officials -“ before addressing a number of dignitaries and other stakeholders in the automotive industry.
According to Ramaphosa: “I had called upon Japanese carmakers to strengthen their investment in South Africa. A few months later at the second South Africa Investment Conference, Mr Andrew Kirby came up to stage to announce Toyota’s new investment (R2,6 billion)-¦ I am particularly pleased to see that the announcement that was made has led to the creation of so many jobs -“ a total of 1 775 jobs made through the announcement of the investment [of the Corolla Cross production].”
The new Corolla Cross is based on the acclaimed Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform. From August 2021, 32 Toyota and Lexus models are using this platform and now account for approximately 70% of global Toyota sales. The Corolla Cross is produced in both right- and left-hand drive variants and will be exported to more than 40 countries in Africa.
Why Hybrid is a Big Deal
The introduction of hybrid technology in the Corolla Cross line has required altogether new assembly processes as well as vehicle testing systems, and these are now part of TSAM’s standard operating systems at the Prospecton Plant.
For Toyota customers, hybrid technology has many benefits of lower emissions and reduced fuel consumption, while reinforcing an overall driving performance. But for TSAM, the introduction of the low-emission Corolla Cross in hybrid guise is significant in that it’s integral to the company’s roadmap towards Carbon Neutrality.
The launch of South Africa’s first locally-produced, volume Hybrid Electric Vehicle not only allows many more local customers the opportunity to accelerate their own change to green mobility far quicker than what was previously possible, but also establishes the building blocks for TSAM’s long-term sustainability as a globally competitive and relevant exporter.
Kirby adds that TSAM has set a "very ambitious" target of selling more Hybrid Corolla Cross models than traditional internal Combustion Engines (ICE) models by 2025.
In 2020 the local industry only sold 324 New Energy Vehicles (155 of them being HEV, 77 PHEV and 92 BEV), and this year to-date, only 322 have been sold (169 of them being HEV, 46 PHEV and 107 BEV). Most of these have been Lexus models.
“We plan to fundamentally change the NEV landscape in South Africa from a few hundred NEV’s a year to well over 10 000 units per year,” says Kirby. His sentiments are echoed by Toshimitsu Imai, General Manager Africa Support Division in Toyota Motor Corporation and Chief Operating Officer at Toyota Tshusho Corporation: “We are trying our best to make a significant contribution to reduce carbon emissions. We are currently proposing hybrid technology for South Africa as it is important for local vehicles to have proper range or mileage.”
As a final step towards carbon neutrality, TSAM is investigating ways to eliminate or off-set the balance of its carbon emissions, especially those originating from the use of natural gas in its production processes. The company plans to invest over R2 billion to realise these goals in the next seven years.
“This isn’t just limited to reducing vehicle emissions; our activities span the entire value chain, which includes our suppliers, manufacturing facilities, offices, parts warehouse as well as our dealer network. For example, since 2006 we have reduced our total factory carbon emissions by 34%, improved our energy efficiency by 29% and already achieved carbon neutrality at our Hino Manufacturing Facilities and at some of our other office sites-¦ In fact, we are targeting to be 100% reliant on renewable energy by 2028,” explains Kirby.
To watch the highlights of the Corolla Cross Line-Off Ceremony, please click here.
Picture/s: Motorpress
