Toyota’s R10 billion Hilux investment vote of confidence in SA: Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa has hailed Toyota South Africa Motors’ R10,4 billion investment in the production of the ninth-generation Hilux as a strong demonstration that the government’s efforts to create an environment conducive to investment are beginning to pay dividends.

Delivering a virtual address during the official line-off ceremony for the new-generation Hilux at Toyota’s Prospecton manufacturing plant, west of Durban on Thursday, Ramaphosa said the occasion reflected growing investor confidence in the country’s manufacturing sector and the country’s long-term economic prospects.

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Today is about much more than the launch of a new vehicle. It is about confidence in South Africa. It is about the enduring value of long-term investment.

“It is about the strength of South African workers, engineers, technicians and entrepreneurs. And it is about our shared determination to build an economy that produces, innovates, exports and creates jobs,” he said.

Of the R10,4 billion committed by Toyota to the new Hilux programme, 77% of the investment has already been spent.

The project is expected to be completed by June next year, with the Prospecton plant set to produce about 140 000 new Hilux models annually.

The latest generation Hilux features improved technology, enhanced comfort and off-road capability while remaining competitively priced for both commercial and private customers.

The investment, Ramaphosa said, was as a result of a number of government programmes, including incentives to encourage business to invest in the country.

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“The R10,4 billion investment in the new-generation Hilux programme demonstrates precisely the type of investment that South Africa seeks to attract,” he said.

The value of the investment, Ramaphosa said, could not be measured only by the new machinery and factory infrastructure it financed.

Its true value lies in the opportunities it creates. It lies in the thousands of South Africans whose livelihoods depend on this plant. It lies in the workers whose skills continue to grow. It lies in the supplier companies that have expanded their production.

“It lies in the young people who will find employment because businesses such as Toyota continue to invest in our economy.

“This is what inclusive industrial development looks like,” he said.

Ramaphosa said the launch also demonstrated that the country was successfully translating investment commitments into tangible economic outcomes.

About one-third of Toyota’s investment had been directed towards strengthening local supplier capacity and tooling.

“That is how resilient industrial ecosystems are built. That is how domestic manufacturing capabilities deepen.

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“That is how small and medium enterprises grow. And that is how sustainable economic development is achieved,”Ramaphosa said.

Toyota, which established its business in South Africa in 1961, employs thousands of workers at its Prospecton plant.

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli hailed the Japanese manufacturer for maintaining its commitment to South Africa through some of the country’s most difficult periods.

“They stood with us through Covid-19, through the July 2021 unrest and through the devastating floods. That is what members of a family do,” he said.

Toyota South Africa Motors president and CEO Andrew Kirby said the investment has a multiplier effect across the country’s industrial sector.

We are not only producing vehicles, we are also developing South African manufacturing capability.

The investment, Kirby said, represents “a new chapter” in South Africa industrial development.

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Toyota Africa regional CEO Shinichiro Otsuka said Toyota had invested R27 billion in South Africa over the past 20 years and remained committed to growing exports and expanding its manufacturing footprint in the country.