Toyota announces plans for its Prospecton plant
Post the 2022 floods, Toyota South Africa is positioning its Prospecton factory as a springboard to the rest of Africa.
THE executive vice-president of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), Hiroki Nakajima, who is based in Japan, visited the Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) factory in Prospecton recently to announce the company’s new global and regional policy.
TSAM was the first Toyota branch outside of Japan to receive this regional visit following the organisational changes and policy announcement by the new TMC president, Koji Sato, on April 7.
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Accompanying Nakajima were Toshimitsu Imai, the CEO of TMC Africa region, the executive vice-president of the Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC), and Shinichiro Otsuka, COO of TTC Africa region. They all shared how the new policy would work in Africa. Nakajima detailed the three key pillars of the Toyota Mobility Concept, which are electrification, diversification and intelligence.
“This vision was developed to enhance the value of the car, expand freedom of mobility, and provide new services and energy solutions as part of the Toyota Mobility Concept. We remain firmly committed to our multi-pathway approach and will continue to tailor electrification to the needs of customers and individual regions by drawing on the strengths and characteristics of each vehicle type,” said Nakajima.
The first pillar of the Toyota Mobility Concept is a commitment to achieve carbon neutrality globally by 2050, with key milestones along the way being a 33% reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, and 50% by 2035. Nakajima said Toyota is accelerating electric-vehicle expansion worldwide, aiming for 10 new models by 2026, which would amount to 1.5 million vehicle sales per year.
As part of TTC’s ‘Industrialisation in Africa’ pillar, Prospecton will be positioned as a ‘mother factory’ to the rest of the continent, where parts and vehicle distribution can be further expanded into Sub-Saharan Africa.
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