KwaZulu-Natal Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, has welcomed the R2.5 billion investment by Toyota South Africa to produce its first ‘hybrid synergy drive’ (petro-electric) car at its Prospecton plant in Durban.
Dube-Ncube expressed her appreciation to the leadership of Toyota South Africa for working with the provincial government to turn around the situation, despite challenges created by the outbreak of COVID-19.
Dube-Ncube said the automotive sector has suffered billions of losses as a result of COVID-19, with millions of people facing the jaws of abject poverty.
The MEC said ahead of the outbreak, the provincial government was moving with speed to ensure that the Automotive Supplier Park Special Economic Zone (SEZ), located in the south of Durban, is operational by 2021. The park will create an estimated o1 339 jobs through an investment of R2.2 billion.
“It should be remembered that in February, we had successful negotiations with the leadership of Toyota, who agreed to be one of our tenants in our supplier park. We were excited by the fact that Toyota was about to start assembling the new Hino 500 series truck here in Durban.
“These would be exported to Europe and Africa. We expect this province to earn foreign currency, with our export capacity being boosted significantly,” Dube-Ncube said.
The MEC acknowledged the contribution that has been made by Toyota in the provincial economy, including an amount of R24.2 billion spent on procurement, with previously disadvantaged communities benefitting.
“We want KwaZulu-Natal to continue to have a thriving automotive industry. Over the years, this industry has had a profound and wide-ranging effect on the city and suburban communities.
“We want the impact of the sector to be felt in the township and rural communities. We are excited because Toyota South Africa has agreed to work with the department to ensure the entry of young people in the townships and rural sectors into the automotive sector,” the MEC said.
Ahead of lockdown, figures showed that the entire transport equipment sector employed more than 14 815 in KZN and 9 242 people in eThekwini.
“What we are undertaking to do, as part of ensuring recovery in this sector, is to be aggressive in our approach aimed at attracting new investments into our Automotive Supplier Park. We want to ensure that jobs are created in the provision of bulk infrastructure development.
“We also want to promote innovation and localisation, in particular through the manufacturing of the first South African car in KZN. In Kenya, they have Mobius; in Uganda, they have Kiira; in Malaysia, they have Proton; in India they have Tata; and in KZN, we want to have our own brand,” Dube-Ncube said.
The MEC said the province has planned to invest more in research and development (R&D) infrastructure to promote electronic vehicles, an area they want to explore in order to re-engineer the sector. – SAnews.gov.za
