By Mabuyane Mabuza
This year’s Toyota South Africa’s annual State of the Motor Industry coincided with the State of the Nation address by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Even though the two are not necessarily linked, but I could not help but notice some parallels.
The head of state made some bold declarations, same as Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) executives.
Unlike President Ramaphosa, the Japanese car maker is not sending boots on the ground to take the fight to the zama-zamas and gang members, but they are taking the fight to the Chinese, introducing products in every segment of the market.
According to Leon Theron, TSAM Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, his organisation has been planning the expansion for some years now. Theron said his company was not afraid of competition, they respect it.
He said they saw the Chinese coming from a mile and started preparing in earnest. However, Theron said they did not anticipate the speed at which the Chinese came. Nonetheless, they were still prepared. As part of the fight back, the Japanese have revealed products that could counter the Chinese.
Some of the new products lined up to enter the South African market are the likes of RAV HEV and PHEV, Corolla Cross GR-S HEV, Land Cruiser 300 1M HEV, Lexus RZ BEV, Lexus RZ 600e BEV, and the Land Cruiser FJ. With this product line-up, it is crystal clear that Toyota South Africa is not leaving anything to chance.
Though Theron was firm, he was also unequivocal and gave a steady assurance of a brand that knows exactly where it stands and exactly where it is going.
I have attended all but one SOMI through the years and it is used by many players in the industry to gage the temperature for the year ahead in the motor industry.
TSAM CEO Andrew Kirby stepped up with the kind of clarity the industry needs right now. South Africa’s motor industry, he said, he expects it will grow by 5.5% to 630 000 units in 2026. In a climate where headlines often leantoward uncertainty, that number landed with weight; it spoke to resilience and recovery. And Toyota, unsurprisingly, plans to lead that charge.
Playing Offence, Not Defence
If there was one unmistakable message from the day, it was this: Toyota is not retreating in the face of aggressive Chinese competition — it is going on the offensive.
Rather than reacting nervously to the wave of new entrants reshaping the local market, Toyota is responding the way a market leader should, with product. Lots of it.
A full-spectrum rollout is planned for 2026, reinforcing Toyota’s dominance from entry-level mobility all the way through to ultra-luxury. Theron reiterated that their customers will not need to leave the Toyota stable to find what they’re looking for.
