Toyota rolls out new Corolla after R1bn upgrade to Durban plant

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Senzo Mchunu is testing one of the 1000 cars that have been manufactured by the Toyata at its Durban’s Prospecton plant. Dave Finch, Senior Vice President for Toyota South Africa is explaining key features of the Toyota Corolla which will be exported to Africa and other continent.

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Senzo Mchunu is testing one of the 1000 cars that have been manufactured by the Toyata at its Durban’s Prospecton plant. Dave Finch, Senior Vice President for Toyota South Africa is explaining key features of the Toyota Corolla which will be exported to Africa and other continent.

Published Feb 5, 2014

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Johannesburg - Toyota South Africa Motors has invested R1 billion in its manufacturing facility in Prospecton in Durban for the production of the new Corolla, the 11th generation of the world’s best-selling car.

The investment was disclosed by Toyota SA yesterday at a function held at the plant to celebrate the start of volume production of the new model.

Johan van Zyl, Toyota SA’s president and chief executive, said the R1bn investment was the second to be announced in the current phase of capital expansion, which started with the R363 million new parts distribution centre in Gauteng in 2012. This followed the R8bn investment programme completed in 2008 that increased Toyota’s local production capacity to 220 000 units a year.

Van Zyl said the investment was made specifically for the new Corolla and was spent on the refurbishment of the plant; new tooling and equipment, including tooling and equipment for suppliers of local components; and the training and development of its employees.

“The decision to invest in the production of the new Toyota Corolla is one taken well in advance of the start of production and one that considers the future economic prospects of South Africa and those of major Corolla export markets. We believe that despite the current economic slowdown and currency pressures the South African-built Corolla will prove to be a good long-term investment,” he said.

Van Zyl declined to comment on any further investments planned during Toyota SA’s current investment cycle.

“We are always looking at our investment programme and as we change models and produce new models we invest. We are in the planning phase and I can’t comment at this stage on any new investments we will make,” he said.

Van Zyl said both right- and left-hand drive versions of the new Corolla model would be built at the plant, with two thirds of this production earmarked for the local market and the rest to be exported to other markets in Africa.

The previous Corolla model was exported to Europe as well. But Van Zyl said the new model was also being produced in Turkey, which would supply the new Corolla to Europe.

Van Zyl said the investment had stabilised jobs and added 245 new people to the plant but if the product performed well there would be an opportunity to expand production and jobs.

He said there would be about 50 percent local content in the new Corolla, the same as the previous model, but he stressed that the sourcing had been completed before the Automotive Production and Development Programme was finalised.

He said Toyota SA would see how it could increase local sourcing. This was dependent on the value of the rand, which in the current cycle was positive for further localisation.

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Senzo Mchunu said the provincial government was working with Toyota SA to strengthen the motor industry in the country and was exploring the possibility of establishing an automotive supplier park at the back of the proposed dig-out port at the old Durban International Airport, a few kilometres from the Toyota plant. - Business Report

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