Toyota South Africa Motors’ (TSAM) Prospecton plant in Durban has resumed operations after production halted due to damages caused by the floods that lashed KwaZulu-Natal in April.
TSAM hosted a “reopening ceremony” on Tuesday, attended by TSAM top brass, KZN premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube, and Siboniso Duma, MEC of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs.
TSAM said in a statement that the firm’s market share had amounted to 30% before the production plant was submerged in water during the deadly floods that hit parts of the province. This put TSAM on the back foot, with its market share shrinking to 17%, 18.1%, and 16.3% in the months of May, June and July, respectively. The plant produces Corolla Cross and Quest, as well as Hilux, Hiace Ses’fikile and Fortuner vehicles, while also assembling a variety of Hino commercial vehicles.
TSAM said all production lines had resumed production with the exception of Corolla Quest, which would commence on August 17.
TSAM President and CEO Andrew Kirby said the firm had prioritised the safety of its staff and contractors during the flood, while supporting dealers, suppliers, and affected communities.
“We communicated with Japan (Toyota Motor Corporation) on the night of April 12. I very quickly got a message back of support and an offer from them to do whatever they could to help. They dispatched a lot of experts to support us, helping us to repair, identify, diagnose and replace, and then communicating with suppliers all over the world to source replacement parts,” Kirby said.
The process toward the plant’s full recovery has been long, with pre-floods production levels forecast to be achieved in December. Operations at the plant were also previously halted due to Covid-19 lockdowns and the civil unrest that brought most businesses in the city to their knees in 2021.
“Despite these challenges, there was no impact at all on Toyota’s long-term future in South Africa. The commitment to rebuild this site has been incredible. We know that our recovery will not be smooth, but by next year we plan to be stronger and better than we were before,” Kirby said.
“TSAM’s operations at Prospecton will actually be better and we plan to use this crisis to try and improve our equipment and upgrade where we can. In fact, we’ve created an internal slogan for our recovery called ‘Rebuilding Better Together’. This talks to how we all work together as one team to find a way of renewing and improving our site at the same time.”
More than 4 000 vehicles were damaged on-site during the floods, but the costliest damage was to the plant infrastructure itself, including robots and other machines.
“In fact, there was not a single square metre of the entire 87 hectares facility that was not affected. In fact, it would be easier to just build a new plant.”
Duma said the reopening of the plant was good news not just for Toyota but for the provincial economy.
“This also shows Toyota’s commitment to investing in the province of KZN as well as the local automotive industry,” he said.
Dube-Ncube said she would encourage her provincial colleagues to make Toyota the vehicle of choice for her government.
“On behalf of the government of KZN, the people of KZN, we wish to pay a tribute to Toyota South Africa for the enormous strides that they took in resuscitating operations here at the plant. To all the stakeholders who participated in the clean-up operations, we would really like to thank you as the government of KZN. We know that through your hard work and agility, you were able to save people’s jobs.”
