SOMI 2019 - State of the Motoring Industry 2019
SOMI 2019 - State of the Motoring Industry 2019
By Lawrence Minnie
Toyota South Africa hosted the second instalment of the state of the motoring industry in South Africa and a number of very important announcements were made.
SOMI 2019 – State of the Motoring Industry in South Africa
Toyota South Africa hosted the second instalment of the state of the motoring industry in South Africa. The event was attended by a veritable who's who of the automotive sector and a number of very important announcements were made and these were just some of the highlights.
Business forecast
A number of guest speakers joined Toyota SA President and CEO, Andrew Kirby on stage to discuss the industry forecast for 2019 and further. Although the news was not what many wanted to hear it wasn’t all doom and gloom.
FNB’s Mamello Matikinca-Ngwenya said that 2019 will be a year of halves, with the first two quarters being full of uncertainty and with confidence increasing post-election into the thirds and fourth quarters.
Toyota aims to move about 550 000 units this year only slightly lower than 2018’s overall numbers. With Matikinca-Ngwenya, estimating about 530 000, it is not that far off. Toyota’s overall market share has also increased from 22% to 24.2% which is good news for the automaker and trends indicating that SUV’s and Double cabs are becoming the vehicle of choice for SA car buyers.
The takeaway from many of these messages is that Toyota is still growing and will continue to do so and has committed itself to move the SA auto industry forward
Youth Focus
Kirby also announced Toyota SA’s commitment to the Yes4Youth campaign. This campaign aims to train 1 million youths to kick-start their careers. They also committed to the Safe2School, Safe2Home campaign that seeks to teach school children about road safety. The campaign is being piloted in four schools in eThekweni, KwaZulu Natal.
Cape to Queen
Julia Albu, the 81-year-old adventurer took her 20-year-old Toyota Conquest on a yearlong journey from Cape Town to London through Africa. This in itself is a feat of endurance that only the bravest would take on but Julia did it with a smile.
Julia was awarded the keys to a brand-new Toyota Yaris for her efforts and a family member was on hand to collect. He shared with us the effort and eccentricity that such an adventure required and we heard from the lady herself in a video presentation about her adventure and how excited she was to be receiving the gift from Toyota.
New models
Calvyn Hamman, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, took to the stage to give us the scoop on the Toyota and Lexus products that we can expect from the automaker for 2019.
Toyota Corolla Hatch
Toyota Rav4
Toyota Hilux GR Sport
Toyota Prius
Toyota Quantum
Lexus RCF
Lexus LS F Sport
We were also given a brief overview of what we can expect from Toyota Gazoo Racing and the options that will be making their way into Toyota’s future line up. That means that there is a very exciting year ahead for SA auto fans.
Start your impossible
Hamman also announced the sponsorship for the SASAPD (South African Sports Association for the Physically Disabled) Games and announced Ntando Mahlangu as a brand ambassador. This is in line with the Start Your Impossible campaign tied to the Olympic and Paralympics sponsorship that Toyota kicked off two years ago.
Toyota i-Road
Delegates were also treated to a mini-roadshow of Toyota’s compact all-electric utility vehicle, the I-Road, and were given the opportunity to pilot this traffic jumping mini car.
Half scooter, half car and all mobility, the I Road makes for an interesting drive, even with the Japanese instructors cautioning operators at every turn.