Feb. 12, 2026

Watch: Exclusive Toyota SOMI 2026

Transcript

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Um, this is being broadcast live on YouTube today. So, to all of those that have tuned in and you're watching it,

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it's so good to have you with us wherever you are. And you are honestly going to enjoy every minute of this. We were rehearsing yesterday. We were going

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through some of the content and most importantly, the things under those black drapes. Holy moly, they're awesome. But you'll hear about that a

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little bit later on. So, thank you to you for tuning in wherever you are. And this will be available. So, this is going to be on YouTube, so you'll be able to watch it if there's anything

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that you did miss or you'd like to listen to the speakers again or, you know, something you'd like to relive, it will be on YouTube, so you'll feel free

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to go in there. Also, the hashtag #somi2026 and # Toyota South Africa, Toyota SA

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rather, just Toyota SA. If you are on the socials, whether it be LinkedIn or anything else, please make sure that you do #us and uh we look forward to

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following the conversation. Okay. So today so much is going through my mind.

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You know we've we're sitting and doing state of the nation address this evening 7:00 our president if anybody watches it anymore. I don't know for me it's a

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press release but and this is the industry I work in because yeah it's just unfulfilled promises unfortunately

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but this is the reality of where we are living right now. So, let's keep that in a shell and then let's look at the motor industry. Let's look where we're at at

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the moment. And so, I was doing a little bit of research and this is an incredibly interesting time to be alive.

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It really is. And and we're going to see that more and more and more as we're talking. But for South Africa, vehicle

1 minute, 45 seconds

exports are still doing phenomenally well. I think and I will be corrected if I'm wrong. I know over 400,000 for one

1 minute, 52 seconds

of the first times in our country. We can never belittle that number because that number sustains us and it's great

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and it's wonderful and it needs to be celebrated. It's a massive thing. It's the first time in our history. Yet at

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the same time, imports that we see driving on our roads are reshaping our showroom floors. Chinese brands are

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redrawing price dynamics. Global markets are counting down to these electrification deadlines, deadlines we're going to hear about in a moment from Andrew. But what really gets me,

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and I was sitting and looking at this this morning, is that we are a country that mines everything that is needed. We

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have the minerals that basically is there to drive the future. Yet, we're still debating how quickly we can

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actually manufacture that future ourselves, which sometimes doesn't make sense to us. And that's why we are

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hoping for fast leadership and fast direction. And perhaps maybe we'll get something tonight when we hear from the

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president. We're an industry basically that's built on internal combustion excellence while export markets look

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towards 2035 and beyond. Are we ready for that? These are some of the questions that the motor industry needs to look at in the middle of all of this.

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And this is what we cannot cannot downplay. Toyota still remains the market leader. They're doing something

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right. One in four new vehicles sold in South Africa have that badge.

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And that's something that I think is well worth giving Toyota a big round of applause for.

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The theme today is very very interesting because we're talking about disruption.

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So there's a tension, a tension between strength and disruption, heritage and

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reinvention. And this is exactly why the theme is so fitting, driving through disruption. Because disruption isn't

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optional at a time like this. Whether we like it or not, disruption is essential.

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It is here. But the question is is not whether we face it. How do we navigate through it? How do we take the car and

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drive through this disruption? So we started off with an incredibly powerful video. And I think perhaps the answer

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lies in that video and a heart of all of the numbers that we've been talking about here. We can talk about policy shifts. We can talk about production

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forecasts. We can talk about electrification and all of those things.

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But at the heart of it, there's something deeply human. And I think that video captured the human essence of everything we're doing here. Mobility is

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not a one-sizefitsall thing. Every customer is unique. Every customer has a different need. Every business need is

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different. Every family, every fleet operator, every entrepreneur requires something very tailored towards them.

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Toyota's commitment to creating mobility solutions as we saw it there for you reminds us that even in disruption the

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center of gravity remains human and that's what's important here. The customer is what is important and I'm so

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glad that Toyota keeps that at the center of everything. Technology may evolve, regulation may tighten, markets may fluctuate, but if you understand

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your customer, you mean you truly understand your customer, you could drive through anything. Now, I'm a one-man kind of girl, meaning I've been

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married for a very long time, and so I keep my eye focused on my husband. I do the same with cars. Toyota, however, are stuffing that up for me.

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You can laugh, but it's the truth. I get emails saying, "Would you like to drive our brand new Lexus?" And I get into

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this brand new Lexus. And I start questioning. I question what I'm doing in life. Why am I not driving a Lexus?

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Why am I committed to another car when this is actually a better-l looking car? And then they do something even worse.

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They unveil something called a Prao Land Cruiser, the brand new sexy looking beast that you're also going to be seeing a bit later. So they are

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questioning and they are speaking to the heart of the customer. So they're doing something right guys. I I have needs and they are fulfilling them. And that's the

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damn problem is that I may actually dump the need I have and and look towards another need in the form of these beautiful Toyota branded cars. It's

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absolutely amazing. So today we really are going to question a lot of what we do. Quick program looking at that program today. So we've broken it into two. We have an industry overview. So,

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we've got from the macroeconomic environment to Andrew is going to come up in just a couple of minutes time. Um,

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Professor Justin Barnes and Gulam are going to be coming up and chatting,

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giving us some present presentations as well. We then going to have a Q&A section with all of them where we focus in on that industry overview. We will

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open it up to the audience to ask questions as well. And then the part I know that all of you look forward to because I'm looking forward to as well.

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Leon Tron is going to come up onto stage with the one and only Donovan Goliath who's with us today looking very gorgeous with his beard over there. He's

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just such a good guy and he's awesome to watch because his excitement is going to resonate with all of you as we unveil

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these new uh shapes and vehicles that are exclusive to you to see today. So,

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it's going to be amazing. And then after that we'll have another Q&A and that's when you can ask about the new offerings and the marketing. Okay. So after my

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long spiel it is time to call up the man of the moment. The man that has driven this company through so much over the

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last 10 years. And what 10 years it's been. We didn't think that we'd get co We didn't think that we were going to be

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driven by all of these new minerals and new cars and new EVs and all of these kind of words that we are learning and becoming a daily part of our lives that

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we need to fast track. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my absolute pleasure to officially kick off 2026. Please welcome

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the president and CEO of Toyota South Africa Motors, Mr. Andrew Kirby. Take a look.

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Well, good morning everyone and welcome to our state of the motor industry for 2026.

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Uh this is now the ninth edition and uh really pleased to see everyone and thank you for joining us. Yeah. And thank you very much for joining us again. Really

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good to work with you. appreciate uh your your introductory comments. I'm not sure um if I need to offer you a job

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or not, but I think you phrased it you phrased it very very well. I'm very pleased that we have a lot of our partners and key stakeholders in the

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industry with us as well. Representation from NAN CAM AITF. We have our non-executive director with us as well

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and member of the media. Thank you. I'm not sure how we end up having this on the same day as Sona two years in a row,

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but I'm glad you're here and not in Cape Town. But uh I hope you I hope you enjoy uh this morning's this morning's discussions.

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I think of course everyone talks about disruptions. Uh we do know that we live in a fairly uncertain time both globally

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and in South Africa and the question is how do we respond to that? And of course our theme today is driving through disruption.

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It is more difficult to plan and forecast. Uh it is more difficult to anticipate what 2026 is going to bring

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but obviously the next 5 to 10 years which is is crucial for us in our planning horizons. But what that does

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mean as an industry is that we need to be a lot more resilient. We need to have ways in which we adapt very quickly and respond to these changing trends. And

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that's certainly an approach that as to we've been taking building resilience,

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responding very quickly, becoming a lot more dynamic, and uh I'm looking forward to being able to share some of that with you today. I need to say up front, Leon

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and I are looking forward to sharing a lot of news with you today. We've got a lot of exciting material. This is a very important year for the South Africa

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Motors, but we're only going to share about half of the news for the year.

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we'll leave a lot of a lot more for for later in the year. So, I'm just I'm just setting that up uh up front.

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We wouldn't be in this position and we're very grateful um for our customers uh for the loyalty that we've seen and

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from our really important partners to be able to stand here today and share this with you. We've got with us also some of

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our key dealers, some of our key component suppliers who are really instrumental in getting us to this point and we're all walking this journey together. So, thank you for joining us.

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Thank you for your support. Um, this is part of our strength as an organization is our supply network and our dealer

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network and we we know that they are crucial to being able to offer our customers the value that we seek to

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deliver. And as Leanne said, the trick for us, even though we are volume manufacturer, we do have three very

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strong brands is to be treating each customer in their own unique way,

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delivering what they need in their unique way, their vehicles, the way they use them. And we keep our focus, we keep

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our focus on that. So let's talk a little bit about driving through disruption. Of course, as you also saw

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through the video, lots of lots of change, lots of um trends in a way that makes us stronger. And one

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of our values as TAM is to welcome competition, find smart ways of doing

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things, be inquisitive, and continuously strive to get better than before. So, this quote is a good one to inspire us.

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It's not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent.

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is the one that's most adaptable to change and we certainly know that that's the environment we're in um at the moment. So let's talk a little bit about

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2025 just for a second. Of course we all know about the global disruptions. We know about the geopolitical trends. Of

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course the US policy has had an impact on the aside from an auto auto sector.

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We've showed a lot of resilience through this, but we've been fairly disciplined in how we've responded and uh of course customers are are responding well as

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well. On the other hand, and you're going to hear a lot more detail later,

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but we've been very fortunate significant.

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We've had the benefit of lower interest rates that started to build consumer and business confidence and we're very fortunate to be in that position. On the

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other hand, and I'm going to explain later, we've seen a big growth in new vehicle sales, but it's not all that it

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seems. We've seen a lot of pricing impact on that volume and uh we need to

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be very mindful of that as we go into 2026. So, let's talk about where we are in our markets in South Africa. So, there a few perspectives.

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Yes, we can be very pleased that we've seen a 15.7% growth compared to last year. Yes, this is the first time that

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we are seeing volumes higher than the precoid years, higher than 2019. So,

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this is a big step change for us. But the reason I'm showing you the volume over this period of time is that we get some perspective on where we are.

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Volume's not as high as 2006 and 7.

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certainly not where they were from 2012 to 2016. So, it's a fairly pedestrian market.

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600,000 yes, is a nice improvement, but it's small. We really lack scale in South Africa.

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When we consider our population size, if we consider the mobility needs, if we consider the quality of our public transport,

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we should be a lot bigger than this.

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So we are moving in the right direction but we do need to think very carefully about how we can move this into another

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level of scale that can support our industry overall.

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Of course what I've put on the graph here is also our CKD mix. So this is the mix of vehicles manufactured in South Africa sold in our market. And when you

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go back to 2006, you can see that we're around 56%. That slowly dropped to the mid 45 46% for a period of time. And now

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we've seen after co a significant decline. If you look at the gradient of that decline, we can expect that to be a lot more severe in 2026. So 33% only 33%

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of all our vehicles sold in South Africa were locally manufactured.

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Of course, imports are extremely important. Imports create a vibrant market that bring in a lot of different

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styles of vehicles that our customers need. We can't expect to produce everything in South Africa and for our

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size market and where we are on the continent that would be an unrealistic expectation.

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So the strength of imports in South Africa is extremely important. Even as manufacturers, we import a whole range

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of vehicles. Um, and we're going to be revealing some of those to you today.

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So, it's very, very important. They bring to new technology. They create a lot of vibrancy in the market.

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But, do we have the right balance? And that's a discussion that I'm going to be talking about as we as we go through the through the presentation.

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33% is not really enough. And there has been a thought that the manufacturing base in South Africa can be sustained by

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exports. But I'm going to show you a little bit later that that's not a a good way of looking at things. So let's talk a little bit about this 15.7%

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growth in vehicle sales. If we had a net increase of 15.7% where the average

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prices was remain the same, we'd need to be around a 3 and a half% GDP growth.

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We had 3 to 1.2%. So where did this come from? It's a very busy table, but the message is fairly simple. The green

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elements show where there was a growth and the red is obviously a decline.

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Essentially what happened last year is the yes the A segment being the entry-

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level market grew faster than the other segments but within each segment B subB C and D which is the volume uh in

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South Africa and the passenger car market it was the entrylevel models that grew faster than all the others

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and so what that did is it created an artificial growth in volume if we look at the true value we didn't grow by 15.7

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7% at all. Yes, there's a little bit of catch up and restructuring after 2023,

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2024, but I think we need to just see that in perspective and it reflects just how constrained consumer spending is. Um

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there's some definitely green shoots and we'll talk about that later and I know's going to share some of that with us, but we just need to see that 15.7% in perspective.

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Of course, I will talk about my forecasting bit later. So, let's now talk about production.

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So similar right 600,000 sales 600,000 production 600,000 but you

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could be lost if you don't look at the details yes it is good we got to 609,000 an improvement on last year of 594 yes

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fantastic largest ever volume of exports 411,000 this is this is definitely something to

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to celebrate it makes a huge contrib contribution to our economy especially in terms of forex but creating jobs

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creating skills are very very important to us. We're now at a point though where 68% of all the vehicles manufactured in

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South Africa are exported and only 198,000 are sold uh in South Africa.

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So where does this leave us? Well, what it's meant is that we had a fairly diversified export market going back to

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2006 and slowly we migrated to being focused on one market.

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The UK might not like me to say one market. So UK and Europe as one export destination, 81% of all vehicles

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exported were exported to the UK and the EU.

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And what's very surprising, Africa, we used to export 19% of our vehicles into Africa. Now we're 8%. Yes, we've seen a

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little bit of growth from 2020. The Africa market is is really a tough market. We have a constrained African

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market because of used imports. We also have gray new vehicle imports that come through the Middle East that make this market a very, very tough environment.

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It's largely driven by government fleet purchases with very low levels of private consumers.

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So we do need to work harder to strengthen our business in in Africa.

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But it is now only 8% of uh all our export volumes. Of course, as Toyota, we by far the strongest player exporting to into into the rest of Africa.

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So the point I want to make is that we need a healthy domestic market. We need

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a diversified export market in order for us to sustain and grow our production base in South Africa. We cannot simply

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say that's fine. We won't sell anything in South Africa. We'll just import and we'll export everything to Europe. Why?

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Because that 400,000 411,000 exports is going to change.

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Why? Because of regulation changes in the UK and in Europe. The UK has a zero emission vehicle mandate where you have

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to sell a certain number or ratio of zero emission vehicles every year that becomes more and more stringent. In

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Europe they have an average emission ratio and if you don't achieve that you get penalized.

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What we do know is there's been a number of discussions about whether this time frame or direction is in fact

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appropriate. So last year there were really changes to the regulations in the UK where they now suddenly extended hybrid sales to 2035 and just recently

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in Europe they've changed the regulations to say okay you can you can sell 10% that are not zero emissions you

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have some latitude and you need to be able to offset that uh with e- fuels or buels or lowcarbon steel so that there's

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a recognition that the adoption the business case for battery electrics especially is not so strong and the value proposition for customers is not so

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strong. So they're going to need a lot more time and it's very difficult to predict exactly what those step changes are going to be in technology to where

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the price point and the value proposition becomes a realistic outcome for Europe or they end up putting themselves in a very difficult position.

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So this means that as South Africa if we're relying on this environment with these changes it's going to be very

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difficult to sustain our volumes. We are most likely over the last 5 years next 5 years excuse me going to see significant decline in exports to Europe and the UK.

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We don't have competitive new energy vehicles. Yes, we have some, but we don't sell them

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locally and we haven't localized those components. For us to be competitive with any vehicle, we need to have a scale to localize those components so we

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can be competitive. Now, what we're doing is we're exporting some new energy vehicles to Europe, but we haven't localized those components. So, I think

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the picture is very clear. We can't rely situation is not going to remain the same and we need to think very carefully about how we have to adjust our

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approach. Most big markets around the world have all put specific interventions into place. Supporting customers, supporting the business,

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creating penalties, creating incentives to accelerate the transition to new energy vehicles. There are very few if any markets that have naturally

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progressed into new energy vehicles simply because the value proposition is not there yet. Yes, it might come in the future and we feel very strongly that as

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as a as a as Toyota our multipathway approach is the correct one where we are technology agnostic there'll be step changes in hybrids

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there'll be value propositions for hybrids plug-in hybrids battery electrics fuel cell carbon neutral hydrogen ice all of these are going to

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be very important and will be used in different ways for different vehicles and different customer usage conditions and we all know how varied that is in

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South Africa and of how bad it is in in Africa. But look at some of those targets. They are really severe. So we

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can't be left behind as a country and say well we can't afford to transition because if we say we can't afford to transition we are saying effectively

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we'll also give up on exports and we become a don't like this term a rear guard manufacturer of old conventional technology and that's not the way we've

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been working over the last 100 years in South Africa.

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So why the transition? Let's just talk a little bit to put this in some perspective. There's a lot of controversy, a lot of forecasts. We just put pulled up a Bloomberg forecast that says by 2028,

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a large portion of new energy vehicle sales will be battery electric followed by hybrid followed by plug-in hybrid. We

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of course don't believe this is correct at all. Being the number one manufacturer globally already 44% of all our sales are hybrids

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and we're seeing a lot of competitor brands pivot towards hybrid simply because first of all it's the fastest way to reduce CO2 emissions. Secondly,

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the value proposition is a lot stronger and customers understand that they can't be hoodwinkedked. They understand the benefit and differences between a hybrid

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plug and hybrid and battery electric. We do expect dramatic acceleration of plug-in hybrid and battery electrics.

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But we do know that in South Africa a large portion the largest portion of new energy vehicles by 2030 will be hybrids

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followed by batteries followed by plug-in hybrids. So we need to adapt to this environment very very quickly both

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from a sales and a manufacturing point of view because as I said we're going to be left behind. Let's just look a little bit at the number of vehicles that have

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been introduced in South Africa. You can see that in 2025 over just under 70 new

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models were introduced. Uh more battery electrics, slightly less plug-in hybrid and slightly less hybrid. And you can

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see the premium segment what that looked like as well. Very few coming into the light commercial and medium commercial uh segment.

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only 4% of all the new energy vehicle models um sold in South Africa are manufactured in South Africa and this is

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where we have a big gap. So there's a strong movement to introducing EUG vehicles that's very good for us that

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creates a very exciting market for us uh but we're not seeing the transition to locally produce those vehicles as well and as I mentioned before find the right patterns.

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So let's talk uh a little bit about drivetrains in South Africa. Uh if we look at our total volume sold last year,

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that's the number of new energy vehicles sold 2.8%.

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Obviously mostly hybrids followed by plugin and then battery electric vehicles. As Toyota South Africa, we are definitely leading the way. 60 sorry 58%

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of all new energy vehicles sold in South Africa are either Toyota or Lexus.

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So uh we are very very intentional about driving uh our direction and we will be making some significant announcements

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today about our progress towards energy vehicles and dare I say later in the year as well. So we've got a lot to look

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forward to. Big volume seller obviously being Corona Cross hybrid followed by RAV 4 hybrid Corolla hybrid and Nexus NX

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is the top four for models. So we're very very active that we will be expanding our model range uh intention over the over the 2026 and of course the years to come as well.

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So we do need to sit back and think a little bit about manufacturing value addition because that's what brings the economic value to to a country. And when

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we look at South Africa and we compare ourselves over the last 24 years, we were doing very well around the year

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2000 where we had an average manufacturing value addition per capita of $720,

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right? $720 per person. That's unfortunately dropped.

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So zero growth all the way down up to $640 US. And we were doing really well amongst our peers. But because we

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haven't had a coherent well-managed industrial policy, we've stuck behind.

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And look what happened to toa I guess is the way you should pronounce that with their intentional industrial policy where they are now and how their world

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has changed. So we are prematurely de-industrializing as a country and the question is are we

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now starting to see the early signs of that potentially happening with the auto sector as well and the auto sector is a very important catalyst for

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industrialization. It's a really good sector to help drive and spur the rest of industrialization in the country. So

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it's important that we keep this in mind. We do have challenges and we need to be honest and frank about them. Over the last few years, we've seen a lot of input costs for manufacturing increase.

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This is not just uh particular to the auto sector, but for many of the industrial sectors and we need to be fairly aware,

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not complain, but this is this is the facts. Energy costs have gone up. We've made big progress with load shedding,

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but what we have seen is significant increases in energy costs. Labor costs have gone up. They're going up higher than inflation every year. So our cost

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of labor, we used to have a significant competitive advantage to some of the other, especially Asian markets, that's dissipated.

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Water security. Um, in our plant in Toyota, we've had to build a dam just to ensure that we have water security and

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don't lose any production uh efficiencies or continuity. And that is a a serious concern for us. Of course,

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logistics is a big issue particularly on the rail side. We've seen very good improvement from port operations. Uh but it's going to take a little bit of time

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before we see rail costs start to come down and those efficiencies help. We transport a lot of good high value uh

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goods both parts components uh service parts vehicles inside the country in Africa and exporting. So logistics

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becomes a really key competitive element for us. And of course we've also seen the erosion of our supply base. I think you all know what's happening with steel

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with the tie industries. So we need to find a way of bringing that back to strengthen our competitive and manufacturing uh capabilities.

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So what's going to strengthen our automotive competitiveness?

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I think we can crystallize our situation down to three areas.

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The first one is how do we strengthen our competitiveness of CKD manufacturing in South Africa. Our

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automotive development policies over decades has been certain, foresighted and well thought through. But our world

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will change and we now need to adapt to look at what we can do to strengthen our CKD competitiveness.

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And I'm not saying that they need to have a majority mix in the market. Not at all. But we need to move back to probably that 40 to 50% range of

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vehicles sold in South Africa should be should be manufactured locally.

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We need to have a dynamic import uh portion of the market, but we also need to have the right balance so that we can create the jobs, the skills, the forex

31 minutes, 49 seconds

and not end up just being an import replacement market. Quite frankly, the country can't afford it. We might argue that uh imports could be potentially

31 minutes, 58 seconds

more uh um uh more affordable, but the country can't afford it because the forex impact is enormous. We often forget about that.

32 minutes, 8 seconds

So, how do we take a thoughtful approach to improving the competitiveness of local manufacturing in a fiscally

32 minutes, 18 seconds

neutral way? We're not suggesting a big blunt instrument to suddenly correct this. What we're suggesting is tweaking

32 minutes, 26 seconds

and small changes on a variety of different elements that can improve our competitiveness and create that solid base because we need a solid base in

32 minutes, 35 seconds

South Africa as I said also Africa because we know we're going to have to really fight to sustain any form of decent brings into into Europe and the UK.

32 minutes, 45 seconds

The second one is we need to and I hope I've convinced you through the presentation transition to new vehicles quickly.

32 minutes, 52 seconds

We need specific government support and interventions to support investments in

32 minutes, 58 seconds

lowcale new vehicle production because we do have low scale at the moment and we need to support the customer

33 minutes, 6 seconds

transition because the value proposition is not there on its own. The premiums are too high and so we need both of those to be in place. How do we do that

33 minutes, 14 seconds

in a smart way where we're not just asking for incentives but in fact we have a smart way of doing this so that

33 minutes, 20 seconds

um as a whole our fiscal fiscus can actually benefit and the third one is we need to be very careful about our export

33 minutes, 28 seconds

markets it's critical we don't have the scale in South Africa if we didn't have a manufacturing base in South Africa at all in 2026 and we said let's establish

33 minutes, 37 seconds

one it would never happen very fortunate very privileged that over the last 100 is we built a very deep

33 minutes, 45 seconds

level of manufacturing from the component suppliers tier 1 2 3 all the integrated services and the uh OEMs to

33 minutes, 54 seconds

get where we are at the moment. We export to first world markets around the world with high levels of expectations

34 minutes, 2 seconds

and demand and we achieve them all. So we have a unique opportunity in the auto sector. It's really something we can

34 minutes, 8 seconds

celebrate as a side, but we can see what's going to be happening. But we are going to be um at risk if we continue

34 minutes, 17 seconds

just to rely on one market and say that's fine. Uh I think we need some

34 minutes, 24 seconds

interventions. We need some decisive leadership across the industry with all the stakeholders, labor included and

34 minutes, 32 seconds

government to make these changes. Now we deal with a 3 to four year uh time span

34 minutes, 38 seconds

we make in investments and we're already a little bit late. If we can conclude this during 2026 we'll be impacting on

34 minutes, 46 seconds

2930 investments and we know that our world is going to be very different.

34 minutes, 51 seconds

Four years ago our world was different today and so the speed and the importance of responding now is absolutely crucial. How do we leverage the African continental free trade area?

35 minutes, 2 seconds

We also know as I mentioned we are going to still have to deal with US imports.

35 minutes, 6 seconds

We still have to deal with grain and food imports. Uh but the opportunity does exist for us to be much stronger on the continent and that's certainly to

35 minutes, 14 seconds

South Africa's direction. And then lastly we need to deal with structural issues. We can't ignore those but I'm

35 minutes, 20 seconds

very pleased to see that later a lot of the reforms that are starting to embed uh a change in this in this in this

35 minutes, 29 seconds

area. So I think we should also not just be defensive

35 minutes, 35 seconds

and say well let's protect sustain. No let's grow.

35 minutes, 42 seconds

We need to create jobs. We need to create economic activity.

35 minutes, 46 seconds

I'm fairly confident that the cyber market should and could exceed 700,000 vehicle sales.

35 minutes, 54 seconds

I'm very confident that the cycle of production could and should exceed 720,000 production.

36 minutes, 3 seconds

If we made the right small changes in the right way, creating the right investor confidence, we have the

36 minutes, 10 seconds

potential to increase vehicles sold to the domestic market by 20%, vehicles exported by 20%. And that would generate

36 minutes, 17 seconds

21 billion rand in manufacturing value addition to the South African economy.

36 minutes, 23 seconds

It is it's it's significant. And of course, we generate 14 a half thousand direct jobs.

36 minutes, 33 seconds

Justin's more equipped to be able to tell you what that multiplier is, but depending on how you look at it, it's between 4 and 12 throughout the whole

36 minutes, 41 seconds

trade. So, this could make a material impact to jobs. And so, we we need not just think about well, how do we stop becoming an import replacement market?

36 minutes, 50 seconds

No, we need to be thinking about how do we structure things differently. so that we can thrive, grow and contribute to the South Africa uh economy, contribute

36 minutes, 57 seconds

to creating jobs, contribute to creating skills and contribute to creating a vibrant a vibrant uh auto sector and

37 minutes, 4 seconds

industrial base. So I think there's a lot we can do. I'm really looking forward to uh continuing the discussions. I am encouraged. We have a

37 minutes, 13 seconds

heightened level of engagements at the moment with government. um as a sector between NAM, NUMSA, NASA, we have a very close level of discussion, very open,

37 minutes, 25 seconds

frank discussions. So I think that is a unique privilege, a blessing that we have as a as an industry. But we do need to act now. Thank you very much.

37 minutes, 51 seconds

Thank you so much, Andrew. I think really hitting the nail on the head of where we're at. So, yes, protect what we have, but grow. That is that's the

38 minutes

essence of business. I mean, you have to grow. You have to move. We've seen companies that haven't grown and haven't moved over the times, and you've seen

38 minutes, 8 seconds

what happens to them. So, this is a it's it's an exciting path. It really is. And I say that because I I was one of them.

38 minutes, 16 seconds

And I remember literally a year ago standing on the stage and talking about that whole range anxiety thing and no I

38 minutes, 23 seconds

I was so negative about hybrids and electric vehicles and all of this kind of thing and saying South Africa is not ready for this. We can't do this and

38 minutes, 31 seconds

anyway um like I said to you, I get very spoiled by Toyota, you know. I then get to drive one of their electric vehicles

38 minutes, 39 seconds

which happened to be that Lexus of theirs which is just it blew my mind and everything that I had thought completely changed. I I've never felt so good in a

38 minutes, 48 seconds

vehicle before. It was amazing. And then you know when you go into countries where electric vehicles are the way you actually see the difference it's making.

38 minutes, 56 seconds

You feel the difference that you're making. You hear the difference you're making. You can sneak up on people. It's beautiful. You know what we are like.

39 minutes, 5 seconds

You know, South Africans, that's the way we are. We like to sneak up and take people by surprise. But, you know, jokes aside, we have to change our behaviors.

39 minutes, 13 seconds

We're living in a time where we have no option. We really don't. I mean, I I look at my generation and we never asked for all of this change. I sure as hell

39 minutes, 21 seconds

didn't. I didn't ask to have to compete with chat GPT for everything, to compete with AI, to do all of these changes. But

39 minutes, 29 seconds

you know what? We have no option. And when you embrace it and you move with it, it is incredible what you can achieve when you work alongside something and you don't actually just push it to the side. So, thank you,

39 minutes, 40 seconds

Andrew. And I think this is a a great way to start off and we'll we'll delve a lot more into that and more when we sit down and have our panel discussion. But

39 minutes, 49 seconds

to set us up for much more when we talk about the macroeconomic environment and to to understand the world because yes,

39 minutes, 57 seconds

we are this little tip on the bottom of the African continent, but what about the rest of the world? There's a very big world out there that has got a lot

40 minutes, 5 seconds

of noise at the moment and we need someone to explain it to us. Well, we've got the man to do that exactly for us.

40 minutes, 11 seconds

He is the uh senior economist at Standard Bank and also head of research there. So, it is my absolute pleasure to

40 minutes, 20 seconds

welcome up on stage um Gurabanu from Standard Bank Group. Thank you.

40 minutes, 40 seconds

Thank you for having me. It's great to visit with you. Andrew, thanks. Now I'm empowered.

40 minutes, 48 seconds

I've been given 20 minutes to describe the world that we living in. It's a 40-minute narrative, so I'm going to attempt to hem it into that 20 minutes,

40 minutes, 58 seconds

but preempting that, I'd like to just share a little bit of a personal story.

41 minutes, 3 seconds

and a 23 year old who completed his university stint last year. He joined the world of work on the 5th of January.

41 minutes, 12 seconds

It was a milestone. It's a milestone cuz he got off my payroll.

41 minutes, 17 seconds

And then on the 3rd of February, armed with his first salary check would about which would about make a deposit, he

41 minutes, 26 seconds

walked into a Toyota dealership and bolting that onto a lease program, he walked out with a Toyota Starlet cross.

41 minutes, 42 seconds

But he wasn't done cuz a couple of days later later he said to me and again I'm with youthful ambition he introduced me

41 minutes, 51 seconds

to a model called an FJ an upcoming FJ.

41 minutes, 56 seconds

And he said to me he needs to get on to that list. So, if you know a guy,

42 minutes, 4 seconds

and if you really know a guy, I suspect the silhouette of that second car resemble that, but it's just a guess.

42 minutes, 12 seconds

So, now I'm down to about 17 minutes to deliver a 40-minute presentation.

42 minutes, 18 seconds

I'm going to attempt to be rapid in this because it's quite a sizable endeavor.

42 minutes, 24 seconds

There can be no doubt that we've enter a new terrain in terms of not just

42 minutes, 32 seconds

cyclical considerations but that era that is before us.

42 minutes, 39 seconds

Some may be inclined to think that this is a period of deep disorder and instead we would argue it is a period of contested order.

42 minutes, 50 seconds

We're lucky in the sense that we have the last year of experience to guide us with regard to where we think the world is going in due course and we also have

42 minutes, 59 seconds

the benefit of a very transparent signal from Mark Carney the Canadian prime minister who in Davos highlighted to us

43 minutes, 8 seconds

that this is not simply a transition and used the word several times and he spoke about a rupture a rupture in

43 minutes, 17 seconds

global affairs tectonic shift Mark also highlighted and he he said the

43 minutes, 24 seconds

quiet part aloud. He signaled that in fact the rules the multilateralism and

43 minutes, 30 seconds

institutions of yesterday have in fact begun to erode it erode rapidly. But he

43 minutes, 38 seconds

could his concession as well that it was not necessarily a system that was fair

43 minutes, 45 seconds

that was symmetric. In fact, he conceded that the system that has been prevailing for decades has been to the advantage of select more powerful economies.

43 minutes, 56 seconds

Economies that enjoyed hecky that provided the world with safety and security and to a large degree dictated

44 minutes, 5 seconds

the rules that prevailed and rules that were adversarial to emerging markets.

44 minutes, 13 seconds

And so we're entering a world that is going to be bifocated, that is going to be in spheres. But it is not a world that is signaling dlobalization.

44 minutes, 24 seconds

If anything, there is a reconfiguration of supply chains, a reconfiguration

44 minutes, 32 seconds

of global alliances, reassuring,

44 minutes, 37 seconds

French shoring, nearshoring, they're all very different things, but this is now part of our lexicon in terms of the

44 minutes, 44 seconds

manner in which nations around the world are going to engage in establishing

44 minutes, 51 seconds

relationships where there is commercial trusts where there is the capacity for predictability.

45 minutes, 1 second

We're nowhere near a world of perfection in terms of understanding what is coming down the pike. But in establishing

45 minutes, 11 seconds

relationships across borders where there is heightened levels of predictability,

45 minutes, 15 seconds

there's going to be significant currency in the future. Another dimension that we have to consider is that supply chains

45 minutes, 24 seconds

around the world are prioritizing resilience over efficiency.

45 minutes, 32 seconds

Continuity going concern reliability over low cost production. For the last

45 minutes, 39 seconds

30 years, globalization was fashioned around efficiency and global supply chains oriented themselves

45 minutes, 48 seconds

around their capacity for just in time production at the lowest cost. Now, as I'm alluding to,

45 minutes, 57 seconds

resilience is going to be perhaps at the forefront of the manner in which supply chains fashion themselves. With

46 minutes, 5 seconds

resilience can come redundancy. In other words, extra inventory, the capacity to ensure there is continuity in

46 minutes, 13 seconds

production. That just adds a little bit of costs to the production chain. And with that, that probably suggests we're

46 minutes, 21 seconds

entering a new realm, a global inflation, global cost flaws, maybe a little bit higher than otherwise would

46 minutes, 29 seconds

be the case. It certainly was the pursuit over the last 30 years.

46 minutes, 35 seconds

But to talk a little about geopolitics and the manner in which it is going to manifest and I think it's important not just for the automo industry but for

46 minutes, 43 seconds

life as we conceive of it and for the next generation. multilateralism,

46 minutes, 50 seconds

the rules and institutions are now being replaced by power, coercion and the weaponization

46 minutes, 58 seconds

of tools that certain nation has in its orbit and in its tool kit. So whether it is the weaponization of trade and trade

47 minutes, 7 seconds

relations or the weaponization of strength of American aggregate demand and a market that many would want to

47 minutes, 14 seconds

sell into. This weaponization has now become briskly to the four and even

47 minutes, 20 seconds

though it may seem as a relative calm in a global geopolitical environment now relative to last year I suspect it's not

47 minutes, 30 seconds

necessarily going to ease and become benign.

47 minutes, 36 seconds

America has numerous attributes that define its exceptionalism.

47 minutes, 42 seconds

It is exceptional because it accounts for about one quarter of global GDP.

47 minutes, 47 seconds

That's enormous if it is exceptional because the dollar is still significant in terms of denominating trade.

47 minutes, 56 seconds

America's institutional foundations are strong and its technological progress is significant. Also, its weight in global

48 minutes, 5 seconds

financial markets is astronomical deep and it's limited. But America for decades has also found prowess from its

48 minutes, 14 seconds

military complex. America spends on its military more than three times that of China. And it spends more than the next nine nations combined.

48 minutes, 28 seconds

This is not just deterrence.

48 minutes, 31 seconds

Over the last eight decades, since the Second World War,

48 minutes, 35 seconds

America has shown a proclivity for military intervention.

48 minutes, 40 seconds

in almost every single decade. Without exception, America is engaged in some level of activity somewhere around the

48 minutes, 48 seconds

world. I'm not subtly trying to suggest that America is warongering, but I am suggesting that America has an activism

48 minutes, 56 seconds

with regard to military engagement and the way we think about prospective

49 minutes, 2 seconds

geopolitical terrain. Geopolitics is now at the core of business decision making.

49 minutes, 10 seconds

Military spend is being amplified in Europe and it is taking away from spend infrastructure spend that would

49 minutes, 18 seconds

otherwise have gone to what economists met metaphorically called butter. Guns

49 minutes, 25 seconds

spending on military and spending on butter would be spending on that infrastructures like roads and bridges

49 minutes, 32 seconds

and telecommunication systems. Otherwise infrastructure that has far more multiplier effect than spending on

49 minutes, 40 seconds

military. And of course capital is now flowing private capital to supporting this industrial complex endeavor.

49 minutes, 50 seconds

But military also military activity introduces facet into global economic decision

49 minutes, 59 seconds

making. And for the sake of brevity, let me just say to you that peace time economics tends to engender higher

50 minutes, 6 seconds

global GDP growth than when there is frictions in the global economy. It's undeniable.

50 minutes, 15 seconds

But for all of America's strengths, and I'm not suggesting that American exceptionalism is going to come to an end. It isn't. American exceptionalism will continue.

50 minutes, 27 seconds

But America is now in contention.

50 minutes, 31 seconds

There are other individuals or countries or nations that are also adding to global progress. There are new kids on

50 minutes, 40 seconds

the block that are challenging the United States.

50 minutes, 44 seconds

Asian manufacturing and China in particular is deeply contesting and it has been for years in the goods market.

50 minutes, 52 seconds

in a single exhibit. This underscores China's progress and China's progress

50 minutes, 58 seconds

for years to come. It is this particular exhibit that unnerves the United States.

51 minutes, 4 seconds

It is this exhibit that perhaps is signaling that the United States as an empire is going to be overtaken by China. It sounds incredibly dramatic,

51 minutes, 15 seconds

but what the United States lacks and many other western nations is what China

51 minutes, 22 seconds

is dominant in. China harbors access to the upstream ecosystem

51 minutes, 29 seconds

of ingredients of commodities that is going to determine the new era, new technology, goods and maybe even commenurate services.

51 minutes, 41 seconds

If we cast our minds back to the 1700s and the 1800s to the industrial revolution,

51 minutes, 49 seconds

the nations that were at the forefront of that era's technologies, whether it was the telegraph or the spinning jetty,

51 minutes, 56 seconds

the nations that were frontier with respect to those technologies being for a length of time, even centuries,

52 minutes, 3 seconds

nations that lagged, that did not know what was happening. in fact continue till this day to suffer their intent.

52 minutes, 13 seconds

So, China is at the forefront of the ingredients of a new era of technological goods innovation and the

52 minutes, 21 seconds

nations that are able to get access to rare earth metals, permanent magnets,

52 minutes, 27 seconds

lithium, copper and aluminium will be at the forefront of this endeavor. So the

52 minutes, 33 seconds

geopolitics surrounding America's incursion into Venezuela, its aspirations with respect to Greenland,

52 minutes, 42 seconds

its strong armed diplomacy with some African countries like the DRC that are well imbued with modern day resources,

52 minutes, 50 seconds

or even China's poison pill clauses in contracts with Asian nations like Malaysia that speak to America wanting

52 minutes, 58 seconds

to get access to this one area where it is weak and this that is going to be significantly

53 minutes, 4 seconds

determinant of this century's dynamia has another form of insulation. It is a it has turned inward. In other words,

53 minutes, 16 seconds

the share of international trade that Asia does has shifted. In other words,

53 minutes, 21 seconds

only 46% of trade in 1990 was intra Asia. It has risen more in recently to

53 minutes, 29 seconds

60% and by the end of this decade we anticipate it will reach roughly 70%. In other words, Asia is traded more with

53 minutes, 37 seconds

itself and more an environment of more rapid even hyperrowth in some instances.

53 minutes, 43 seconds

So yes, it surely would want to export into western hemisphere markets, United States and Europe. But to the extent

53 minutes, 49 seconds

that that exclusion is becoming more prominent America and the and sign of

53 minutes, 56 seconds

tensions continue to be elevated, Asia is somewhat insulated because of this very significant shift in terms of

54 minutes, 4 seconds

domestic consumption, wider local and wider regional economic activity. very quickly then there are two perils that

54 minutes, 13 seconds

could be for the world this year that are perhaps of the more significant scale many more but two that I would be worthy of mentioning and the one is

54 minutes, 21 seconds

quite simply inflation the world grew faster last year than many feared

54 minutes, 28 seconds

we performed incredibly well last year this exhibit shows you 2025 growth in terms of annual forecasts month by month

54 minutes, 37 seconds

through the year after April 's liberation day. There was enormous pessimism and debt to confidence that

54 minutes, 45 seconds

befell the world. But as the year of progress on the back of adapting supply chains earlier on, Andrew mentioned the

54 minutes, 55 seconds

world the word adaptation. He spoke about the manner in which we adapt to these ch change circumstances and that

55 minutes, 2 seconds

was significant to the extent that in the latter half of last year global supply chains adapted to the front by

55 minutes, 10 seconds

the United States. They reconfigured very significantly and very very quickly firms continued to invest. They did not

55 minutes, 19 seconds

cease investing but they began to invest differently. And one of the features of this new world is where financial flows,

55 minutes, 26 seconds

capital flows, investment decisions are now in line with this reorienting,

55 minutes, 34 seconds

recalibrating supply chain world and it moved very very quickly generating an outcome where global growth last year

55 minutes, 42 seconds

was better than anticipated as I suggested and that also heralds that at least for 2026 global growth is not going to be spectacular.

55 minutes, 52 seconds

it is going to be steady and that's to be cheered given the enormity of geopolitical flux and cyclical risks

56 minutes, 1 second

that continue to loom. A moment ago I spoke for example about trade tensions in the manner in which they peaked last

56 minutes, 9 seconds

year. have eased significantly and financial markets soared in the latter of last year on the back of these easing

56 minutes, 19 seconds

dynamics surrounding trade frictions. A very significant dynamic last year that spills over into 2026 is easing monetary

56 minutes, 28 seconds

policy for easier interest rates. This exhibit just gives you some sense of the manner in which numerous central banks

56 minutes, 35 seconds

around the world pivoted towards easier interest rates creating easier financial conditions for the globe. This of course

56 minutes, 44 seconds

did not generate an explosion in global spending but it moved a very significant headwind that had been enveloping the

56 minutes, 53 seconds

global economy particularly in 2024 and the early part of 2025.

56 minutes, 58 seconds

So, as I've said, global growth is likely to be steady, if unspectacular,

57 minutes, 4 seconds

with many nations around the world and even Europe showing modest acceleration as Germany remedy some of its

57 minutes, 12 seconds

de-industrialization woes. The same for Japan, India as a emerging market will enjoy fairly lively growth this year

57 minutes, 20 seconds

probably one of the world's best performing economies and we even see from Brazil for their matter increasing economic acceleration.

57 minutes, 30 seconds

I did hint that there is two concerns.

57 minutes, 32 seconds

The one is inflation. Tariff rose very significantly last year in the United States. But that notwithstanding

57 minutes, 39 seconds

inflation did not surface. There is some concern that in fact it is simply inflation deferred. Inflation may begin

57 minutes, 47 seconds

to rear its head this year. And if that happens, you'll be worried because then global central banks that will be easing

57 minutes, 54 seconds

will have to retrace their steps. It is typically the clear case that global recessions occur primarily for two

58 minutes

reasons. High interest rates or shifting confidence and we hope that inflation does not spur high interest rates because that would be quite impeding.

58 minutes, 11 seconds

With respect to shifting confidence, one of the drivers last year of fervent growth particularly in some markets was

58 minutes, 18 seconds

heavy investment in artificial intelligence. So much so that there is concern that it may be fostering a

58 minutes, 26 seconds

bubble. A bubble that mimics the type of bubble that did burst in the early 2000s.

58 minutes, 33 seconds

At this stage, it will appear to be a bubble if we do not get more widespread or global diffusion and adoption of

58 minutes, 41 seconds

artificial intelligence and to the extent that it enhances productivity. In the United States, only

58 minutes, 48 seconds

about a fifth of American firms have actually adopted artificial intelligence worth productivity gains and that is

58 minutes, 56 seconds

insufficient given the enormity of investment that is flowing into this market. So there has to be the returns

59 minutes, 4 seconds

combined and associated with widespread use to justify this extent of investment. if it

59 minutes, 12 seconds

retraces is going to materially compromise the American financial system, financial markets with knock-on

59 minutes, 19 seconds

effect to the real economy. These are not the two items that our central forecast, but they are tail risks that

59 minutes, 28 seconds

portend potentially for next year. Let me turn into South Africa and I'm going to be a little bit quicker. Let me start

59 minutes, 35 seconds

off by saying South Africa faces its best macroeconomic backdrop in about a decade. It is not necessarily going to

59 minutes, 43 seconds

be a blessing path henceforth but there are numerous once upon a time headwinds that have turned into tailwinds and when

59 minutes, 51 seconds

combined these all grow well for consumer spending and especially for durable goods. Last year, South Africa

1 hour

achieved numerous milestones with regard to, for example, an S&P upgrade, largely

1 hour, 6 seconds

speaking, an improvement in ESCOM's underlying generating capacity,

1 hour, 12 seconds

logistics dynamics improve even in water worlds now continue to be set,

1 hour, 18 seconds

especially the urban areas quite plentifully. But we enjoy a credit rating upgrade.

1 hour, 26 seconds

Credit ratings are effectively confidence scorec columns and for the first time in 20 years as I'm suggesting

1 hour, 33 seconds

we enjoyed an upgrade after a lengthy period of downgrades particularly in the last decade and this could be heralding

1 hour, 43 seconds

and signaling and confirming a turning point not a turning point that is guaranteed but the beginning of shifting

1 hour, 51 seconds

from stabilization of the last couple of years postco to some budding momentum.

1 hour, 57 seconds

The South African economy is not yet compounding but as I'm suggesting that flywheel is beginning to potentially garner momentum to which business can lean into.

1 hour, 1 minute, 9 seconds

So what usually trips South Africa is politics and I made some remarks towards the end surrounding that.

1 hour, 1 minute, 18 seconds

The cyclical forces that I'm talking about that could create a better environment and a a more conducive foundation for your industry is quite

1 hour, 1 minute, 26 seconds

simply real incomes. Real wage growth between two and 3% does not appear to be

1 hour, 1 minute, 34 seconds

expressly startling. But at 2 to 3% is basically the growth in normal wages above inflation. It's to be cheered. It

1 hour, 1 minute, 44 seconds

signals some level of income stability and strength among South African households.

1 hour, 1 minute, 51 seconds

Another dimension is that employment gingerely is edging higher. In 2023, the

1 hour, 1 minute, 58 seconds

number of people employed in South Africa exceeded the precoid peaks and there was a celebration to extend it.

1 hour, 2 minutes, 5 seconds

That was the year when we recovered all of the co losses and as I suggested ginger continues to rise. In other words, even the growth in South Africa is fairly tippered now between 1 and 2%.

1 hour, 2 minutes, 18 seconds

It is not jobless growth. It is job creating growth even if it is modest.

1 hour, 2 minutes, 24 seconds

And this is important because it provides a good foundation for domestic income stability. It also lends itself

1 hour, 2 minutes, 32 seconds

more disposed to households taking on credit for purchasing consumer consumer goods. It's unsurprising that we've seen

1 hour, 2 minutes, 42 seconds

an increase in consumer credit over and above the fall in interest rates but the mild pick up in employment. Another

1 hour, 2 minutes, 50 seconds

dimension is that balance sheet wealth has soared. Soared mostly as a function and as Andrew also highlighted the

1 hour, 2 minutes, 58 seconds

increase in the stock market. Last year it was an incredibly handsome year for South African stocks even in foreign currency terms.

1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds

The wealth effect through stocks and sometimes through elevated house prices impacts the economy through behavior. It

1 hour, 3 minutes, 16 seconds

doesn't foster an explosion in durable good spending, but it encourages individuals to be less defensive, less

1 hour, 3 minutes, 22 seconds

cautious about their spending. And as I indicate last year for South Africa, the wealth effect was significant.

1 hour, 3 minutes, 29 seconds

Admittedly, the self this wealth effect tends to impact highinccome consumers more greatly than lowincome consumers.

1 hour, 3 minutes, 37 seconds

But then high income consumers do account for a fairly substantial share of South African GDP.

1 hour, 3 minutes, 44 seconds

I did mention interest rates and the prospect of interest rates declining further. So after last year's decline,

1 hour, 3 minutes, 51 seconds

we anticipate quite plausibly another 3/4 of a percentage point cumulatively being cut and interest rates tend to impact an economy with a lag. So lastly,

1 hour, 4 minutes, 4 seconds

last year's interest rates will reach their zenith in terms of impact during 2026. And the cuts this year also walk

1 hour, 4 minutes, 12 seconds

away well for the latter half of this year and into 2027.

1 hour, 4 minutes, 17 seconds

So none of these items that I've mentioned necessarily on their own are going to provide very amplified trust

1 hour, 4 minutes, 25 seconds

thrust. But what they do when combined is suggest that household fundamentals are in a sturdier footing. And it also

1 hour, 4 minutes, 32 seconds

mean there's a a plethora of driving forces that are going to underpin consumer spending that reliance on any

1 hour, 4 minutes, 40 seconds

single item be interest rates or for example wealth. The signal of developing confidence is also reflected in the

1 hour, 4 minutes, 48 seconds

distribution of spending. If you look at durable goods and services, they're at the higher end of consumers allocation.

1 hour, 4 minutes, 56 seconds

Durable goods account for for 10% of total retail spending and services for just about half. And those are items

1 hour, 5 minutes, 6 seconds

that consumers spending signals for respect to durable goods. They've been brought forward in terms of confidence

1 hour, 5 minutes, 14 seconds

to commit to those items. And they also at the same time would signal that maybe postco there was some deferred

1 hour, 5 minutes, 22 seconds

consumption that is now coming to fruition. But the data effectively confirms the signal of of buddy confidence on the part of the household sector to engage in spend.

1 hour, 5 minutes, 34 seconds

One of the troubling aspects with regard to spending is this elevated allocation to gambling. And I'm not

1 hour, 5 minutes, 42 seconds

going to moralize with respect to the sanctity or otherwise of this, but it is garnering an increasing allocation of

1 hour, 5 minutes, 51 seconds

retail spending. So the exhibit on your left shows you that the share of total spending going towards gambling has

1 hour, 5 minutes, 58 seconds

doubled since 2021. And the exhibit on the right hand side shows you the allocation from the sample that we

1 hour, 6 minutes, 6 seconds

surveyed with respect to gambling and individual spend. The lowest rung shows you that at least half or so Africans at

1 hour, 6 minutes, 14 seconds

least with regard to the s sample that we surveyed are spending let's say less than 500 rand a month on gambling. But

1 hour, 6 minutes, 23 seconds

it's also troubling when you look at the blue segments combined. About a third of South Africans are allocating at least

1 hour, 6 minutes, 30 seconds

2,350 rand to spending each month. This probably signals elements of speculative

1 hour, 6 minutes, 38 seconds

activity, perhaps even household vulnerability. But I think more meaningfully,

1 hour, 6 minutes, 45 seconds

these new digital platforms with high levels of marketing and also the gamification of gambling has just made

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it almost frictionless to be able to participate. And of course from an economic standpoint

1 hour, 7 minutes

gambling is more redistributive of income than a multiplier to growth. In other words, the value contribution and

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generating multiplier growth in terms of gambling relative to goods, services or

1 hour, 7 minutes, 16 seconds

investment is very different. There is practically no multiplier effect from the allocations to gambling in the sense

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it doesn't risk our economy. So it's disturbing at least through an economic transmission mechanism that this is um

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this is not meaningful apart from the fact that it also perhaps enhances also economic vulnerability.

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On a good news front and I'm going to try to rush to conclusion fixed investment is picking up. We're likely to see fixed investment expand this year

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and next year after having contracted for two years and that begins to generate a favorable cycle. Admittedly,

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investment in GDP is around 14%. It's incredibly low. It speaks to South Africa's weak industrialization for a

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length of time. So the real currency is we're going to need optimism over a multi-year basis to be able to raise

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that blue line above 20% near to 25% to really get to the type of 3%

1 hour, 8 minutes, 19 seconds

steady state GDP growth that we aspire to. If this blue line continues to linger at these levels, we will remain

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locked in a 1 to 2% pad. And perhaps the biggest suppressor has been the political climate and the reluctance to

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commit over the medium to long term because our political climate has not always achieved the type of confidence

1 hour, 8 minutes, 43 seconds

that we need. The rand was one of the world's best performing currencies last year. Certainly it has continued to

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garner strength this year. but underscoring the endogenous forces that have driven the rand stronger. This

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particular exhibit shows you that the rand did not just appreciate against the dollar. The rand appreciated against a

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variety of other currencies. In other words, the rand gained against pure commodity based currencies. It gained

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against other emerging market currencies as well over the last 3 years or so. It signals this belief in an accelerating

1 hour, 9 minutes, 20 seconds

GDP outlook. It signals increasing confidence with regard to public finance management. It's also symptomatic that

1 hour, 9 minutes, 28 seconds

there's this belief that South African assets are undervalued whether it was stock market assets or even the bond

1 hour, 9 minutes, 34 seconds

market which has materially improved but at current levels we think we had fair value. We think fair value for the rand

1 hour, 9 minutes, 42 seconds

is between 16 rand to the US dollar and 16 rand.50. can go stronger particularly

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in an environment of a weaker dollar but the advance in the currency is probably fairly mature. The rubber band has been

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stretched and the stretch can go further but not much. So the benefits that have been garnered from the strong brand are

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probably already well baked into South African affairs and that benefit has been with regard to lowering inflation.

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Inflation now hovering between 3 and 3 and a half% steady state is fairly meaningful. It effectively lowers the

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overall interest rate level in South Africa to a lower norm. In other words,

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debt affordability structurally is improved with a more lower steady state interest rate prospectively because of a

1 hour, 10 minutes, 36 seconds

lower steady state inflation rate. Of course, the rand was helpful, but it was also contributo that the Reserve Bank

1 hour, 10 minutes, 43 seconds

lowered the inflation target from a 4 12% level to 3% helping to lock in this

1 hour, 10 minutes, 52 seconds

belief that prospectively inflation is going lower on the back of a credible central bank.

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This is the yield curve and it just gives you some s signal as to how medium to long-term rates have fallen in South

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Africa. The yield curve tends to be relevant for government because it is where government borrows money. The bond market and of course larger size

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corporates the hurdle rate for investment has structurally declined with this plummet in yield. So this is

1 hour, 11 minutes, 24 seconds

an incredibly good news story for the government and its funding and its dem services cost but also for corporate funding

1 hour, 11 minutes, 33 seconds

but it's also a real economic story. If the government is going to fund at cheaper rates it effectively means it is

1 hour, 11 minutes, 40 seconds

going to tax South Africans less than otherwise would be the case. So the type of tax increase projections that the

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finance minister made last February or even that he muted in October is likely to come to pass when he speaks to the budget in a few weeks time on the 25th.

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So this is actually benefiting South Africa to the extent that it's benefiting the fiscals in terms of lower debt service costs. Real rates I hinted

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at the idea that we could see further interest rate cuts this year. This is the real repo rate. In other words, the

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nominal repo rate that the Reserve Bank adjudicates as its policy. Less inflation and it's still fairly high,

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perhaps signaling, as I've alluded to,

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the prospect of further interest rate cut price.

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Pouring all of my narrative into a single exhibit,

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it doesn't appear glistening when you look at South Africa's GDP growth forecast for this year and next. this

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gradual ascendancy to 2% over a three-year horizon. Of course, it's marketkedly improved than the half a percent growth that we had in 2024.

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Household consumption expenditure we think will be steady state at around 2%

1 hour, 12 minutes, 59 seconds

over the near term and fixed capital formation which is just fixed investment fairly favorably. we can cheer the idea

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of fairly low inflation for the near to medium term, lower interest rates and more or less a steady rand over the near

1 hour, 13 minutes, 13 seconds

term. I'll end more or less where I started.

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South Africa is shifting from stabilization to momentum.

1 hour, 13 minutes, 24 seconds

A miracle is not yet going to be unfolding and compounding is not yet going to be. But this could be a turning

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point. What could go wrong? I said a few times, politics is usually the beeving

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aspect of South African macro and social society. Local government elections at the end of this year, quite possibly early 2027 when the window allows.

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Another significant calendar event is the ANC's old party elections in the fourth quarter of 2027 and then on to national elections in 2029.

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At a national level, we have been fortunate at least by the markets judgment to have a government of national unity with a degree of

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semblance and harmony and that has become markets and become investors. But at a local level, coalitions which have

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already been part and parcel of South African society since 2021 have been less constructive. One hopes out of the

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forthcoming local government elections where there's no doubt will be a reshaping of municipal or metro coalitions that it is far more

1 hour, 14 minutes, 32 seconds

constructive with regard to policy choices because as South Africans we now know very well that local, municipal and

1 hour, 14 minutes, 40 seconds

metro elections and activities shape national outcomes.

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water wos, electricity wos perhaps fairly dealt with and logistic wos

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the reform in that agenda has been progressing fairly well but South Africa still be sent with service delivery process of substantial and epic

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proportions and we would argue that in the state of the nation address developed the president focuses on two things in addition to celebrating the

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milestones one is aggregate governance or more broadly the rule of law and takes cue from the midlank commission

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and the parliamentary inquiry and asserts himself towards remediating South Africa's government infractions.

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That'll be one significant confidence boosting commitment. The other is simply

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criminality focusing on criminality in South Africa which we believe is a very significant dent to South Africa's GDP

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potentially costing us 1% of GDP growth sacrifice each year.

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Let me conclude there. I've probably overstayed my welcome. Thank you for having me.

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Thank you. Thank you so much, Gulam. You definitely haven't overstaged your welcome. I think you've really given us a comprehensive outlook and maybe that negative sentiment has come down a little bit. It certainly has for me,

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which is a good thing. Um, Andrew, if I may invite you to please come and join us as well on the stage. And then I'm also going to um ask to come up onto

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stage our our good professor who he doesn't want me calling him professor.

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But listen, if I had studied this long to get my professor, I would also do that. And now my iPad doesn't want to open. Can you believe this? Hold on.

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Hold on. Hold on. I'm going to get your beautiful introduction. Okay. Professor James Bar, Justin Barnes, um the executive director of the Toyota Vessels Institute for Manufacturing Studies.

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He's an associate professor at the Gordon Institute of Business Science and the director of African Industrialization Services, a specialist

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advisory firm supporting industrial development across the continent. So,

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this is where we're going to sit for a little bit. We're going to have a a bit of a discussion and then I'm going to open up the floor to some questions as

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well. So, from the outset, I'm going to ask everyone to to keep your answers short, sharp, to the point, and we're going to try and get as much as we

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possibly can, including some of these wonderful questions that I think have arisen in the audience after both yours, Andrew, and and Ulam's talk as well.

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Justin, this is where I come to you and I and I begin asking you this. So, um,

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you work at the intersection of policy and industrial competitiveness. That's my understanding of what it all is. So we talk about South Africa contributing roughly 5%

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um to GDP through automotive and over 22% of manufacturing output but localization levels have plateaued and

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EV supply chains are still thin. So let's start there and I want to get your perspectives on exactly how disruption

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manifesting in the automotive value chain right now needs to look and how we need to work this.

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And thank you and good morning everybody. I think the challenge with disruption is trying to understand the national dynamic as well as the global

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dynamic because when we think of the automotive industry in South Africa,

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what we're talking about is a sequence of value adding activities that are fully locked in to a global value chain

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both on the input side and on the output side. So we connected to these disruptions that are happening geopolitically and globally. We

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connected to the environmental shifts. I think it had been well articulated already this morning. And then of course we've got our own national dynamics and

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the challenge is when we're exporting we're partly being disrupted by some of

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the issues we're dealing with nationally but we also being uh challenged by all of the global changes that are a foot in

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our domestic market. We have the global challenges because of course we have a large number of supply chain inputs coming into our manufacturing

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operations. Um and our local content is around 40%. So there's 60% of the content in our locally manufactured vehicles that are sourced

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internationally. But then those vehicles find their way into the domestic market as well as as internationally.

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So, so we fractured and I think um going to be spoken about a bifocated world that in a way there's almost a

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schizophrenia I think that that we have to deal with in our own automotive environment where we're dealing with the global and we're dealing with local. The

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problem is, and I think Andrew articulated this very clearly in his presentation, is we're so exposed to the global. 81% of our exports, 400,000

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vehicles means 320,000 vehicles are going into the European market area.

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We're only making 200,000 vehicles for our own market. So when we talk about the energy transition in the European market area and some of the not so smart

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things we think they're doing but are forcing, we're subjected to them at a much greater level than we are in terms

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of what's happening in our own domestic market. And our ability to shape those and our ability to influence is minimized. But when we talk about what's happening locally,

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we of course have a lot more leverage.

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5% of GDP. Half of that is manufacturing and half of it is in the dealers workshops and in the aftermarket. So, so

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the question is where does the disruption sit and what agency do we have in relation to those those disruptions whether they be

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technological, environmental or geopolitical?

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Yeah, I I love that because I mean you just took the words out of my mouth. Is it technology? Is it trade policy? Is it capital allocation? Is it skills? was

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really just a combination of all of those together.

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That's what makes life interesting. It's a combination a little bit too interesting sometimes.

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You don't want it to be this interesting. I'm going to stick with you for one more thing. I mean, when Andrew was speaking and he was talking about Europe's 2035 CO2 target um effectively

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ending the new ice exports, okay, um into the market. So, if South Africa doesn't build these battery electric

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capacity locally, what's sort of, you know, what happens to these export plants? What do we do?

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That's a it's a really important question. I think Andrew in his presentation outlined the importance of Africa. So we we have a major challenge.

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We have our own major market 600,000 vehicles. And then essentially we have no consumption of new vehicles between

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us and the Sahara desert. The second biggest new vehicle market in subsaran Africa is Kubo sitting at around 30,000 vehicles versus our 600,000 vehicles.

1 hour, 21 minutes, 36 seconds

That doesn't mean there isn't demand in those countries. There's actually huge demand except they import secondhand

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vehicles from the US, from Europe, from Japan. If there was a coordination of

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automotive policy in Africa, we would have market consumption of up to 5 million vehicles if we include North Africa as part of

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the the total picture. So our ability to shift towards being an important supplier of vehicles for the African

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market where we have a strong capability in ladder chassis based product we're really good at making pickups which is of course the type of technology that is

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perfect for um economies with um infrastructure that is not um that

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advanced yet. So it's important that we find ways of creating regional value chains to take advantage of these

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African opportunities. If we look beyond that, there's developing Asia and I think you've highlighted that's going to trade internally. It's be very difficult

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for us to break into developing Asia um where of course there would be demand for our type of product

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um and be locked out of the the US for a period. Um which means the EU remains and the European market area remains

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really important to us and that's going to challenge us.

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My response though is we very good at making motorc cars in South Africa.

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We're not that great at making engines or drivetrains anyway. We've always imported those by and large. We do have some engine production and we do obviously make some of the the drive

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train technology, but specifically the transmission, the gearbox, we don't make. So, we import those. Battery electric motor cars

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still have welded bodies that still have to be painted. There's still lots of glass and lots of plastic and lots of other formed products. we make those

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now. So I don't think we as threatened by this new energy vehicle shift as is uh is sometimes been uh suggested

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because of our linkage into the global value chain.

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Okay. I'm I'm feeling even better now. I really am. Andrew, how are you feeling?

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Cuz you know when you hear things like that, what does it mean? Let's let's let's let's go now to the plant floor in

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real terms with everything that's been said from a production point of view.

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Yeah. From on the plant production point of view.

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So I think that um we have the capability to transition to all forms of energy vehicles. It's not a

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skills issue. Uh it's also not a technology issue. So I think Justin's

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100% correct. We need to retain our presence in Europe in terms of exporting because Africa is not going to help us sustain us and South Africa is not going

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to help us sustain us. But there are mechanisms that we need to deal with. So for example, for us to be able to export

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to Europe, we have to achieve a world of origin requirement and as soon as we import a full battery pack from outside

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of Africa, Europe, we can't achieve that hurdle rate. So these are are very clear

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policy issues, negotiation issues between the cyan government in Europe and cyan government UK that has started but are critical if we are going to make

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this transition. So the challenge for us is a lot of these aspects are almost outside of our control and um we have to

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move forward with the knowledge that these hurdles will be addressed provide the right input and create the right frameworks for discussion and

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engagements at the same time in Africa move forward on the basis that these

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policy issues in each of the countries will slowly be addressed where they start to restrict imported used vehicles where they start to manage their borders

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a bit more effectively and don't have the leakages that they have with great imports and we start to trade into

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Africa into Africa in a far more structured way.

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So that gives us a huge opportunity um I think to grow but we we are in a very

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uncertain time and we can't manage and lead the way we used to 20 years ago. Uh

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it is complex and that's fine. We have to be comfortable with complexity and we have to be comfortable with the fact that we've got to make these steps to be

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more resilient and adaptive so that when the opportunities arise we're ready for them.

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Yeah. So you mention gosh I mean I must say the stance for the the African continent of how it's dropped is quite

1 hour, 26 minutes, 19 seconds

frightening and and that's that's a place to to actually change but I want to I want to focus a little bit on policy and I want to speak to government. So obviously we've heard the

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government um signals a revised automotive framework this year. In fact we were hoping now very very soon

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perhaps maybe tonight. Who knows? Who knows? But we waiting on this. Our discussions progressing. Do you know anything that we don't know at this point?

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Yes of course. Tell us tell us.

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But what I what I can share is there's a heightened level of engagement. Um we had the opportunity to uh present and discuss from all the different

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stakeholders in the order sector to the uh portfolio committee in in Cape Town a few weeks ago. We've had engagements

1 hour, 27 minutes, 4 seconds

with the DTRC. We've had engagements the office of the presidency. So there's a heightened level of engagements and

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awareness and discussions but quite frankly that's not necessarily new. We've been talking about this for

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one and a half years at least one after two years. But I'm encouraged. The science seem to be good. I think the

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onus also is on us to present a very wellthought through

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pragmatic solution that is plausible and easy for government to be able to implement. You know, we can't go there

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with open hands and say just just give us more. We have to find a way in which we can balance the books. Yeah.

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And I think we are. And for that reason,

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I'm fairly hopeful that it'll be successful.

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When you sit at that table, what are you proposing? What what is Toyota specifically pushing for?

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So, so I can't go through all the details because we're in the middle of those negotiations, right? And I and I don't want to um

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Fair enough. jeopardization jeopardize you know that that relationship but essentially the importance of those three pillars that are important how do we make CKD

1 hour, 28 minutes, 18 seconds

production more competitive uh we still want to balance of imports but we need to rebalance things a little bit how do we accelerate the transition

1 hour, 28 minutes, 26 seconds

to new energy vehicles so we need to provide customers um better value for energy vehicles in South Africa and how do we manufacture

1 hour, 28 minutes, 34 seconds

energy vehicles and how do we sustain our exports and it's it's banned in all three of ers um in a way where it makes

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sense from the fiscus and makes sense from our economic contribution.

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Absolutely. And and Gulam, let me bring you in. I mean, from what we've heard now, um where do you see this in the auto automotive industry? I mean, when

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it comes to these decisions, these policies, these things that need to change to fast track this, what what are you seeing?

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So here I see it through the lens of if I could choose the word mobility.

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Mobility is changing monumentally um in terms of let's say modern day practices where the youth may not

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necessarily see car ownership as precious as previous generations. They're far more light footed footed.

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You also have urban residential development where I say little things like parking is not as prioritized as it

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was yesterday. And so that in a sense is somewhat of a headwind.

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Um I have industry spec experts on my flanks. I mean just maybe trying to lean into marketing. And then there's brand brand loyalty brand evolution and new

1 hour, 29 minutes, 46 seconds

brands that are incredibly new. Two decades in the market and incredibly significant

1 hour, 29 minutes, 53 seconds

and infusing it into a new emerging buying market. And this is not to insert

1 hour, 30 minutes

a head of fear and torrent into this market. Um but consolidation, brand loyalty, the phrase has been used

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plentifully the so far is inserting into supply chains whether it's local,

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regional or global supply chains. That is what the standard mantra that economists would suggest. far easier

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said than done and I would be quickly seized with with being too liberal with my tongue in making that suggestion

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especially when as we've gone through earlier discussions the Asian depth of manufacturing the Asian depth of

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infrastructure and Asian cunning with regard to the man manner in which they provide incentives for their industries

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to to move from infant to sizable of the South African policy environment has

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been crucial to undergoing the South African motor industry and our authorities have been tidy of late.

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They've been less than progressive there I ask I suggest but we have got new

1 hour, 31 minutes, 9 seconds

leadership within the DTIC which does appear to be having or at least exhibiting a more friendly ear to

1 hour, 31 minutes, 17 seconds

industry and we seeing this relative improvement in reception not just with regard to industrialization policy but I

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merely mention it as an observation but even black economic empowerment policy favorably the authorities ies are

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looking less possessively towards let's say equity ownership in facilitating transactions

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and instead looking for equity equivalent dimensions. My point simply being um slowly sometimes maybe even

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begrudgingly there is is a slightly more receptive year um within within government circles but it still is moving too pedestrianly dare I say.

1 hour, 32 minutes

Yeah, I'd like to add up. I want to go back to the schizophrenia because when we think about industry from an export perspective, it's about the export

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competitiveness of our product. And there's two dimensions there.

1 hour, 32 minutes, 11 seconds

Infrastructure, transport, um the factor costs, energy, all that needs to be competitive in order for us to compete with the product that could be sourced anywhere else globally.

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But we also then have an incentive structure built around a rebate mechanism within our auto policy framework. One needs to get that

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appropriately aligned in order to ensure that we can sustain our export competitiveness. The schizophrenia comes to the local market because when we

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think of the local market, we have to think about these production competitiveness challenges. But we also need to think of the market and of course we have a very large vehicle

1 hour, 32 minutes, 45 seconds

fleet in South Africa over a million vehicles. We have the 600,000 vehicles sold locally. We have hundreds of thousands of people employed servicing

1 hour, 32 minutes, 52 seconds

the fleets and so we need to build local competitiveness and we need to protect the market but we don't want to transfer costs onto the

1 hour, 33 minutes, 1 second

market because of course the more affordable we can make vehicles then the more they can be uh consumed and we'll obviously grow the aggregates of output

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for government it's a fine balance because the biggest beneficiary of the South African auto industry is not the industry it's actually the South African

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government um an inconvenient in fact is the average level of tax on a South African vehicle is 120,000 rand. So on

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average when we buy a motor car on the market 120,000 rand is being handed over to the government in the form of VAT the

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advorum the carbon tax and the tire levy um for a vehicle that we call quint vehicle so going up over the sort of

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800,000 rand mark um the tax burden on a car is 34%.

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Um so the government secures huge fiscal benefit from from the automotive market.

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If that market declines, it's going to have serious fiscal consequences in terms of the revenue flowing into the government. But of course there's a

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serious economic consequence um for the industry if it's overt taxed and and the

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market is being um penetrated too aggressively by imported vehicles that don't have the sort of underlying uh

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value addition. So this industry creates 120 billion rand worth of direct gross value added um just through the seven

1 hour, 34 minutes, 19 seconds

vehicle assemblers. And so you're trying to you're trying to balance the tensions between what's good for production, but you also have to ensure that the market

1 hour, 34 minutes, 28 seconds

is not negatively affected by um creating too much protection for the

1 hour, 34 minutes, 35 seconds

local industry that would allow for um some form of uh price uh advantage that um the consumer ultimately has to bear.

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So that's so the local complexities are are are difficult to deal with because you're trying to deal with the tensions on the

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export side. It's actually easier although it's harder because of all the global forces that shape what opens and closes for us.

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Yeah. Okay. I'm I'm getting around that.

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But I'm glad you said carbon tax cuz that's a big thing today. I don't know if you guys have seen it. There's um talk about a possibility of a pause on that. That that may not be going ahead.

1 hour, 35 minutes, 14 seconds

that uh the headline is reading South Africa eyes carbon tax pause as markets watch US inflation. I'm quoting the

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sofoita. So that could be interesting. I mean you've already made great points there and in terms of how that goal

1 hour, 35 minutes, 30 seconds

postpost is being pushed further and further. I mean obviously you know you've got to watch things and and move as we go. So, so I'm going to ask you,

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Andrew, as we as we as we look at something like that, are we transitioning as South Africa at the right place or is there just too much pressure on us to move faster?

1 hour, 35 minutes, 48 seconds

What do you think? I mean, let's talk about this electrification issue. No, I think we need need to move faster.

1 hour, 35 minutes, 56 seconds

I think um I think we need to we need to consider the South African market as part of a global value chain.

1 hour, 36 minutes, 6 seconds

We have global multinationals producing vehicles for first world countries um and and third world countries around

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the world and we don't want to be in a position where we start to lag behind where everyone

1 hour, 36 minutes, 23 seconds

else is moving. Of course, as you've now said,

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the whole uh business case for energy vehicles is being rethought and is coming under

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enormous amount of pressure. uh that means that as our current global uh multinationals are investing

1 hour, 36 minutes, 44 seconds

they're finding it very difficult because you're investing in all this new energy level um drive trains at low or

1 hour, 36 minutes, 51 seconds

negative margins and trying to sustain your your current business. So South Africa we don't want to transition too fast because we we want to be at the

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right point in that innovation um cost curve but we also don't want to be too slow. I think we are too slow.

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I think uh South African consumers very very open to the drivetrain transition.

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There's no problem with that. It's just that we need to be more competitive in providing those drives. And to do that,

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we need some changes in restructuring.

1 hour, 37 minutes, 24 seconds

Your your face is telling me a story there. What do you think?

1 hour, 37 minutes, 26 seconds

No, I can we it's a tonic listening to Andrew and Justin at a consumer level. I've always had

1 hour, 37 minutes, 34 seconds

this in this instinct that nobody wants to drive an appliance.

1 hour, 37 minutes, 40 seconds

They want to drive a sexy car. They don't want electric vehicle that looks mundane.

1 hour, 37 minutes, 46 seconds

You don't maybe not the coolest thing to drop your teenager off at school with a car that looks quite ordinary. And so

1 hour, 37 minutes, 54 seconds

design features in this envelope as well.

1 hour, 37 minutes, 58 seconds

Oh, can I pause you there? Wait until you see what you're going to see. Oh my gosh, there is nothing ordinary about what's happening under there. Anyway,

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carry on.

1 hour, 38 minutes, 8 seconds

So, so I guess just to my mind, in addition to all of the micro elements of cost and policy,

1 hour, 38 minutes, 18 seconds

design, range anxiety, which I think has largely been resolved,

1 hour, 38 minutes, 24 seconds

and time to charge, which I think has largely been resolved. So I think that there is this combination of forces with

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regard to consumer deception surrounding this conversion that probably over the last 12 months or so significant hurdles

1 hour, 38 minutes, 42 seconds

have been surmounted. Um so I guess it's just to complement the remarks surrounding competitiveness

1 hour, 38 minutes, 49 seconds

and policy that is supportive the fiscus that also can provide support um as well

1 hour, 38 minutes, 57 seconds

as the taxes that it takes. It also is a significant contributor to their export prowess um because of import credits and

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so forth. Um, but successful motor vehicle manufacturers, I think, if they're able to also solve what has thus

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far been the holy grail, as I say, range anxiety, quick to charge, and an aesthetic appeal.

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Yeah.

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Brand appeal. And I think I don't say this because I'm in this audience, but I think Toyota has had, I would say, a revolution as opposed to evolution in

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terms of design in recent years. um which makes it appeal. I just will conclude with this. I travel to Japan

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very often to try and do investment from Japan to South Africa and one of the things that I've always marveled about

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when I visit Japan is the enormity of brand depth.

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Um if you're older than 40 years old and I know that's me and not you. Um, we grew up, the world grew up with Japanese

1 hour, 39 minutes, 59 seconds

brands from Panasonic televisions, Nikon cameras, the entire Japanese industry with regard to automobiles. And I've

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always struggled to reconcile how with that extent of brand depth, does the

1 hour, 40 minutes, 13 seconds

Japanese industry club globally with that level of of brand gravitas? And I think it's slipping if I can be blunt

1 hour, 40 minutes, 21 seconds

but not totally lost and can be regained. Um because simply as I said it had brands that are leg that have

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enjoyed legacy trust um that I think Japan is in some respects unsurpassed.

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Yeah. Love that. Very very interesting perspectives there. Um, but yeah, it's it's it's interesting where we are right now and and and yeah, it's it's it's

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great to see it. But I mean, I'll just give you a personal example as I as I drive around in this Lexus now that I've got to charge. My husband's advice, do

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it in a day when the solar when the electricity is on the solar so it doesn't cost us much. Right? So this leads me Justin to my next question. So

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I'm pivoting from from this moving and move fast to the realities of where we are as a country. So I worry and and

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this happens in in most sectors of South Africa. Are we at risk of creating a twospeed mobility economy here Justin?

1 hour, 41 minutes, 20 seconds

Because for me it looks like the EV will be for the affluent and the ones whose husband tells you charge it in the day when the sun's shining cuz we're

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privileged enough to have solar and then ice is for everyone else. What do what do you think about that?

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It's a great observation because it talks to the heart of the inconvenient truth that politicians will not accept is that an ICE vehicle measured against

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its direct be equivalent has no comparison. The ice is substantially cheaper still. And the only reason why

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beef would sell is because it's subsidized. And so if we look at the growth of battery electric vehicle

1 hour, 41 minutes, 58 seconds

sales, it's either because governments have made ice vehicles more expensive uh through some form of additional tax

1 hour, 42 minutes, 5 seconds

to make the B comparatively cheaper or they've heavily subsidized the B to make it cheaper than the ice. No subsidy, no be sales. That is an unfortunate truth.

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Yeah.

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Now that is changing because the gap in pricing between the ve and the ice and of course then you've got the hybrid,

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the soft hybrid and the plug-in hybrid in between. The gap is closing and it will close at some point in the not too distant future.

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The challenge is how much of this is uh driven through politics and how much of it is driven through the technological and the economic changes within the

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structure of the vehicle industry as it responds to the political direction. And so we are seeing this get closer. We

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will that challenges you've highlighted will go away even in South Africa at some point in the future. Yeah.

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The problem is none of us know and I can speak with some confidence because when I've done policy work in the EV space and I speak

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with uh Toyota not just here but head office or I speak to the German multinationals or the American multinationals everybody gives me

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different answers and the they're not giving me different answers out of their lack of understanding of the issue.

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They're giving me different answers because they understand the issue so well. It all depends. We need more technology breakthroughs. There are uh levels of progress that are being made.

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So what does it mean for us in South Africa at the moment? Battery electric vehicles are consumed by people who are not price sensitive. Vehicle assemblers

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are discounting their hybrids and their battery electric vehicles for brand building in order to get their foot in

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the door. Often selling them at a discount relative to the money being made on their ass product.

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Um and that's fine when you've got a marginal set of numbers on your uh electric vehicle line becomes more

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complicated when it becomes a bigger portion of what you're selling. So the South African future at least for the

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next 5 to 10 years is going to be ice dominated with multipathways sort of embedded in that as we move towards far

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more soft hybridization and then plug-in hybrids. Bev will come, but we'll see more luxury bev than we'll see um small

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bev in our market. And part of that's our geography, our urban densities,

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um the differential use patterns in our market relative to um uh of large metropolitan South Africa are sold to

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private individuals and 20% are sold to corporate fleet owners whether it be government, car rental companies or corporates.

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20% of the market therefore has sophisticated total cost of ownership models where they're looking at the issue that you just highlighted which is

1 hour, 45 minutes, 1 second

what's the cost of charging at the kilowatt hours and doing the the calculation over five or six years that's what the benefit is 80% of the

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consumers just buy a motor car cuz it's sexy and they can afford it and they're going to feel good in that motor car for

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a period that's going to be driven by the value embodied in the product as seen and until the gap between bev and

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us is actually closed at a technological level and at a scale level when there's enough be being produced globally

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um they will become competitive I think we're 5 to 10 years away from that unless politicians decide otherwise

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can I jump in you can I don't think it's a question of ice versus be because when you asked me do we need to

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accelerate faster my answer was we need to accelerate faster on NEV, new energy vehicles, not BEV.

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And this is important because we firmly believe that hybrids, plug-in hybrids,

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even fuel cells for larger vehicles is going to play a key role and they're not just transitional technologies. There's

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a narrative said that everybody's going to get to be. I'm not sure that's true and I certainly don't think it's true in South Africa in the next 10 years or in

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Africa in the next 10 years. So right now our hybrid

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technology produces a 33% drop in CO2 emissions and every year we introduce new generation hybrids that increases.

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Plug-in hybrid goes even further.

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Plug-in hybrids now from Toyota you have a 100 km zero emission driving range. So you can commute Monday to Friday with

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zero emissions, but then you can drive with a th00and kilometer range anywhere in South Africa, go on holiday. We're

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not going to end up with 30, 40,000 charging stations in South Africa anytime soon. It's not ever going to be

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a long range solution. Not in the next 10 years. Yes, it's possible for some households to have a BV as one of their

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vehicles where they only commute in the metropolitan area and the other one could be one of the other drivetrain electrified drivetrains, hybrid, plug-

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and hybrid um that they would use when they do need to drive outside of the normal commuting

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um you know circle. So I think it's very important that the discussions around accelerating all of these different

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electrified drivetrains as opposed to um just thinking about where we're going to be with Bibs.

1 hour, 47 minutes, 39 seconds

Perfect. Very nice. Okay, I want to add two questions to you and then I'm going to open up the floor very quickly so that we can quickly take a comfort

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break. So Andrew, I listen sold it Roslin plant assets to Cherry. I need to ask you this question.

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Um, obviously this is this is not just a transaction. It really does signal that Chinese OEMs are moving from importers

1 hour, 48 minutes, 4 seconds

to manufacturers as well. It's a big sign there. Is this healthy competitive evolution or a structural warning sign for legacy OEMs?

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So I don't think it's about legacy OEMs and of course I think we welcome any investment into South African automotive

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uh value chain and I think on the surface of it it's it's very good that Cherry has purchased the factory so

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there's a a future sustainable outlook for for that operation. uh they were

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able to sustain the majority of the employees and I think that's uh very very welcomed. However, at South Africa

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we should judge whether this is going to be better than before by looking at the manufacturing value addition. So listen

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had a relatively moderate volume with good levels of local content. If cherry comes in and

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increases the volume but has no local components supplying into the factory,

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the manufacturing value addition will actually go down and as South Africa will be worse off than before.

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Sure. We don't know the details of it.

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But that's how I think we should be judging this and in the next few years to come it will be very easy for us to understand was this or wasn't this a good thing for South Africa.

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Okay. And there's a a nice talking point as well. So, but but before I open up,

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there's one question and the question I think we all want to know. Um, last year you described the industry as volatile but healthy. I want to know this year.

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So, you always give us this big number and I'm hoping you can do it again to us for us. Where does the South African new vehicle market close in 2026? Am I

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allowed to adjust my numbers after listening to No, I think we're going to see um a progression from where we were before.

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And just to to share that in January, if you look at our seasonally adjusted annualized rate, we were just under 600,000 in January. So, it's been good.

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We've seen good progression as I mentioned before to the 597. We're forecasting a market of 630,000. So, good growth of 5 a half%.

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um very difficult to forecast how the metrics within each one of the uh segments is going to change as as I

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showed you before. Um but that's a healthy growth of of 5 a half%. What it does mean is because January was just

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under 600,000 to get to that average of 630 the second half of the year is obviously going to be much higher. Yeah.

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Um so we are we are forecasting positive movements and a lot of it's born on what Gong was pres presenting and the

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sentiment we seeing in the markets. Um feedback from fleet customers, feedback from private customers. So we're very

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bullish. I think 56 630,000 is is where we think we'll end up but very doable forecast. I mean it's

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amazing. Well, as you say, there's the first half that we are talking about now and then there's that other half. So,

1 hour, 51 minutes, 13 seconds

there's there's a lot happening this year. Okay, questions. Has anybody got a question that they would like to to ask?

1 hour, 51 minutes, 19 seconds

So, there we go. Already one hand up over there. There comes a mic.

1 hour, 51 minutes, 24 seconds

Hello, morning. Andrew Brendan from Merilla Media. Quick question. with the privatization of the Durban port, do we

1 hour, 51 minutes, 32 seconds

see that spilling over into the railways and making your guys' lives much easier moving forward?

1 hour, 51 minutes, 40 seconds

Okay, so um in the last few years there's been a lot of progress in uh collaborating and working between

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business and government on how to create a lot more economic benefit from our stateowned enterprises. We know

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there's been big focus on energy, a big focus on on transport logistics. Um, and I think that is progressing very well.

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So the reform agenda on transport and logistics is not quite as fast as we'd like it to

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be, but it's very deep and very very important because what it does provide

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is a mechanism for private companies to um to operate on the assets of either

1 hour, 52 minutes, 28 seconds

the port or the rail. And so we've seen uh one of the port terminals in in Durban looking for a private operator

1 hour, 52 minutes, 36 seconds

and that's going to soon come into fruition. We've seen significant improvements in the in the port operations and their lead times and

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that's now progressing towards rail. So we have um some fundamental reforms already in place but this year there are two big

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ones that need to happen. There's a revised network statement that will be issued um next month which will improve

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the investability of private companies to invest either on concession or participating in the rail

1 hour, 53 minutes, 8 seconds

network. Um and the second one is the national rail act which will come a little bit later in the year which will be really fundamental to the change.

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Rail does take time. Uh as the private companies invest for them to go and purchase locomotives or or wagons etc.

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It takes a lot of time. So we are hopeful and the minister CI has announced that there will be four

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successful um contracts awarded this year. So we should be able to see some early wins

1 hour, 53 minutes, 39 seconds

with with rail and and over time and this is going to take about two or three years to answer your question before we

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see real improvements in rail performance costs etc. And just to I

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want to quote you we used to transport uh vehicles every day between Durban and now we have one train a week and it

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takes 4 days. So that's a fundamental area that needs to be addressed, but I think we can be very encouraged by the

1 hour, 54 minutes, 9 seconds

reforms that uh on the right track, but this year we need to bet those down and finalize them. It's going to be a critical year for us and we should see real material changes in 2728.

1 hour, 54 minutes, 21 seconds

Okay, great. Um okay, there we go.

1 hour, 54 minutes, 24 seconds

So um I'm Melinda uh Ferguson from Cape Talk and City Press. I think my question is for Gulam. Um, do you think Trump's

1 hour, 54 minutes, 34 seconds

uh tariffs have backfired on the US, if you can understand what I'm saying, in terms of what his intention was? And how

1 hour, 54 minutes, 42 seconds

dangerous do you think Donald Trump is in terms of a psychotic imperialist?

1 hour, 54 minutes, 54 seconds

Just listening and asking. Can I summon a friend to answer that?

1 hour, 55 minutes, 3 seconds

So backfired is a strong word, but I would say that

1 hour, 55 minutes, 10 seconds

President Trump has accelerated the shift towards fears of influence.

1 hour, 55 minutes, 17 seconds

I did say to you in the former remarks that reassuring for shuring is increasingly shaped by commercial

1 hour, 55 minutes, 26 seconds

trust and I do think therefore supply chains are going to fragment and reorder.

1 hour, 55 minutes, 36 seconds

The short answer to your question is supported by the notion that for several years now we've witnessed that seven of

1 hour, 55 minutes, 45 seconds

the world's 10 fastest growing supply chains exclude the United States. And I

1 hour, 55 minutes, 52 seconds

think President Trump's actions will only accelerate that. The second layer that I may inject to this audience that

1 hour, 56 minutes

we think about is what we're calling an arc of a geographic arc of prosperity.

1 hour, 56 minutes, 7 seconds

And we're saying the century is going to be defined by this arc of linkage between Africa, the Middle East and the Far East.

1 hour, 56 minutes, 17 seconds

In terms of demography, that arc holds at least twothirds of humanity.

1 hour, 56 minutes, 23 seconds

In terms of capital provision, for instance, there's a new vector of growth and that's the Middle East. In 2022 and

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2023, over two years, Middle East nations provided $130 billion of capital

1 hour, 56 minutes, 36 seconds

to Africa, three times in excess what China provided. Put differently, the Middle East may be considered middle

1 hour, 56 minutes, 44 seconds

nation status, but it's a superpower in terms of liquidity provision, in terms of capital, in terms of investment going

1 hour, 56 minutes, 51 seconds

to energy, ports, other logistics, and even retail and hospitality.

1 hour, 56 minutes, 58 seconds

So this notion of the global south fastening its cords

1 hour, 57 minutes, 5 seconds

and particularly catalyzed by the buffeting caused by President Trump will accelerate And I guess just the last

1 hour, 57 minutes, 12 seconds

point I'll make in this respect, Marani and Davos also spoke about how middle nations should be coming together to

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form new consensus, new rules and mutually beneficial games.

1 hour, 57 minutes, 27 seconds

What he didn't mention or at least was my interpretation when he talked about middle nations coming together,

1 hour, 57 minutes, 34 seconds

they've already done so and it's called the global south. It's the global south that has been wiring together now for several years under the guise of first

1 hour, 57 minutes, 43 seconds

bricks then bricks plus language such as the global south we use language such as south south courts and I think what he

1 hour, 57 minutes, 50 seconds

was wanting without saying it is the developed world excluding the US joining emerging markets in forming this

1 hour, 57 minutes, 59 seconds

constellation it's not sounds a lot easier than it is practically going to happen um but we for at least for two

1 hour, 58 minutes, 7 seconds

years have been talking about a new bifocated world where it is the US fraying transatlantic ties which it has

1 hour, 58 minutes, 16 seconds

and a developed an emerging market consensus that could emerge and we've seen that develop and suggest over the

1 hour, 58 minutes, 24 seconds

last year. So in short I think um yes American hedgemen he uh is probably peaked

1 hour, 58 minutes, 33 seconds

but that does not mean the end of American empire just simply a greater contestation.

1 hour, 58 minutes, 39 seconds

Okay. Um I'm going to take one more question over here and then yeah I think I think we're going to have to start ramping up.

1 hour, 58 minutes, 47 seconds

Hi Gurum I think this is more for you Vanip from independent newspapers. A quick just quick question. I suppose

1 hour, 58 minutes, 54 seconds

that's fine. Yeah. Um we are seeing probably Sally increases lucky between three and 5% yet

1 hour, 59 minutes, 4 seconds

everything else is increasing way above that. School fees, FMCGs, medical aids,

1 hour, 59 minutes, 10 seconds

your security that you have to pay for room that's increasing well above that.

1 hour, 59 minutes, 14 seconds

Is that sustainable or we just becoming poorer?

1 hour, 59 minutes, 20 seconds

So you correct in highlighting that there is dispersion in the overall basket and I'll even go so far as to say that the poorer communities benefit less

1 hour, 59 minutes, 30 seconds

from this headline level of inflation given that their basket is experiencing relatively high inflation than high income consumers.

1 hour, 59 minutes, 38 seconds

But the overall inflation level has benefited over the last year quite disproportionately from low fuel

1 hour, 59 minutes, 45 seconds

prices. of course a function of the strong demand as well as the fall and stabilization at a at a lower level in

1 hour, 59 minutes, 53 seconds

terms of oil prices. So fuel inflation has been manifest in suppressing overall inflation. In addition to the debt

2 hours, 1 second

service cost because of falling interest rates has also therefore meant generally low inflation uh and greater share of discretionary income available. food

2 hours, 11 seconds

inflation has actually not been as punitive generally speaking as as one would assume. um we've had a better

2 hours, 18 seconds

farming outcome generally speaking and also maybe prospectively because of difficulty in agricultural farming there could be pressure on meat prices in due

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course but that has yet to enter into the overarching realm and then the last thing I would just say within the realm

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of consumer goods electronic consumer goods South Africans continue to benefit from disinflation even deflation in

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terms of that category but to your point it's It's still fairly dispersed. Low income consumers benefit benefiting less

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from the sense of a 3 to 3% 3 to 3 and a half% inflation and the high high income consumers like people.

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Okay. Um anyone else that Okay. Okay.

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Last last one. You you you squeezed in that last minute. We got last. Um I I'm talking from Adventure Africa.

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Um this is all for you guys. Uh with that palorium tax is it time that government starts realizing that it

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needs to be adjusted and downward and how much does it need to be adjusted for you guys to see a growth in silence?

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Was that a question to me?

2 hours, 1 minute, 35 seconds

So I think Justin referred earlier to the average tax on a 500,000 rand vehicle on an 800,000 rand vehicle. It

2 hours, 1 minute, 43 seconds

is enormous and it's made up obviously import duties and rural tax which is a luxury tax, CO2 tax. We have a tire levy

2 hours, 1 minute, 51 seconds

uh and and there's a carbon tax on manufacturers as well. And the question becomes how do we how do we

2 hours, 2 minutes

adjust that so that we can see a volume benefit so the net income that's

2 hours, 2 minutes, 7 seconds

received by the fiscus remain strong and I think that's the quick that's the

2 hours, 2 minutes, 15 seconds

question it is possible to do that so we know about price elasticity roughly 1 to three you drop a vehicle's price by 1%

2 hours, 2 minutes, 23 seconds

or grow by 3% So yes, I think there is some potential at Lauram's the obvious way to tweak that and Justin's doing a

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lot of modeling on this of how we can tweak that Lauren portion of that tax to generate an improvement in affordability

2 hours, 2 minutes, 39 seconds

but also understanding that uh we need to balance the books so to speak. So I think that would be my my direct answer.

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I don't know if you want to add to that.

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I mean this is a really important point because the adorum tax in South Africa hasn't been adjusted for an extended

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period of time and so what was ostensively a luxury tax is now just a vehicle tax. Um the ad valorum was set

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when our cheapest cars were below 40,000 rand and uh it started at 40,000 rand because uh and it had this very sort of

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um sort of flat gradient for a period and it only started becoming punitive at around the half a million rand mark. You

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can imagine 30 years after that was set it's now punitive for entry level vehicles in the South African market. So

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the adorum is quite distortionary. Um but what for me what it highlights is the challenge of dealing with the South African market and South African

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production. So to date policy in the automotive industry has been within the responsibility of the department of

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trade industry and competition and then of course department of transport looks after the vehicle fleet and vehicle registrations on those issues and

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national treasury goes and collects as much money as it can from the water industry as possible.

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Um that's been the sort of the the structure going forward. It has to be coordinated because we cannot have this

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massive overt taxing of the auto industry on the domestic market side.

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very generous APD uh APDP support and then a Ministry of Transport that sort of allows zombie cars back into the system,

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the registering of great imports and basically a lack of professionalism of the maintenance of the vehicle fleet

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when that is critical to the safety and the maintenance of a competitive new vehicle and secondhand vehicle market.

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So these three things have to tie up in order for us to actually get the full potential of both production and uh and

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market sales and the ad valorum has to be dealt with. It's highly problematic.

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I'm a development economist. I can tell you it's anti-developmental. It does not work in the favor of the market. It does

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not work in favor of the um of the development of the industry. I'm not aware of any price elasticity calculations uh on whether the vehicles

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are now overt taxed. I've seen nothing from government for 50 years on this analorum tax and it needs to be adjusted for us to move forward. Okay, I'm

2 hours, 5 minutes, 17 seconds

leaving it there. I have to leave it there. We we I think we're all on information overload, but information

2 hours, 5 minutes, 23 seconds

that I hope you have found incredibly um worthy because it really it really has been a brilliant morning. So, all

2 hours, 5 minutes, 30 seconds

you know, thank you to all of you. Thank you so so much. What we're going to do now is just have a a quick leg stretch.

2 hours, 5 minutes, 36 seconds

Uh literally 5 minutes. We are going to start in 5 minutes sharp because this is the exciting part where we are now

2 hours, 5 minutes, 44 seconds

seeing how we are going to achieve those big numbers and the goals and everything that we've been speaking about building up to this moment. So uh please if you

2 hours, 5 minutes, 52 seconds

need to go to the bathroom, we've literally got 5 minutes, but if you don't, please stay where you are, just stretch your legs and uh we will be back

2 hours, 5 minutes, 59 seconds

with you at 5 12. Thanks everyone. Thank you guys. I know I don't expect you to understand it, but the the the few ladies in the audience, I know you get

2 hours, 6 minutes, 7 seconds

me. I know you get me. I'm so I'm so proud of myself. You have no idea. But now it's over. The show is over for me.

2 hours, 6 minutes, 15 seconds

I am now in driving mode. And and this is the really exciting part. And I am not joking, guys. What you're about to

2 hours, 6 minutes, 22 seconds

see is something spectacular. And this man has got such a lack of job. Of course, Andrew has to talk numbers and

2 hours, 6 minutes, 30 seconds

the whole thing with the government and ministers and discussions and forecasts and this that and the next. And then we've got Leon who comes here with a big

2 hours, 6 minutes, 38 seconds

smile and all these amazing products to just blow our socks off. And he does such a good job of doing that. So, it is

2 hours, 6 minutes, 47 seconds

such a pleasure to welcome up on stage this very much anticipated sales and marketing overview by our senior vice president of Toyota South Africa Motors,

2 hours, 6 minutes, 57 seconds

Leon Tron. So, Leon is going to share Toyota strategy, um the 2025 performance, the strategic updates from

2 hours, 7 minutes, 5 seconds

Gazu Racing. Man, those cars are gorgeous. Um and the exciting lineup of new offerings for 2026. And a little bit

2 hours, 7 minutes, 14 seconds

later on, he's going to be joined on stage by the one and only Donovan Goliath, who is just absolutely awesome,

2 hours, 7 minutes, 20 seconds

and you guys are going to love him. But before Leon comes up on stage, let's uh take a glimpse and see what Toyota has been up to in 2025.

2 hours, 7 minutes, 30 seconds

Let's take a look at some of the highlights from 2025. Starting with our

2 hours, 8 minutes, 18 seconds

Heat.

2 hours, 8 minutes, 31 seconds

Heat.

2 hours, 8 minutes, 49 seconds

back.

2 hours, 9 minutes, 6 seconds

Heat.

2 hours, 9 minutes, 18 seconds

Heat. Heat.

2 hours, 9 minutes, 29 seconds

Heat. Heat.

2 hours, 9 minutes, 49 seconds

Heat.

2 hours, 10 minutes, 4 seconds

Heat.

2 hours, 10 minutes, 27 seconds

Toyota Gazoo Racing continued our dominance on the track and in the dirt.

2 hours, 10 minutes, 37 seconds

Yeah.

2 hours, 10 minutes, 54 seconds

Heat.

2 hours, 11 minutes, 21 seconds

And in the world of Lexus,

2 hours, 11 minutes, 41 seconds

Heat. Heat.

2 hours, 11 minutes, 49 seconds

Here's

2 hours, 12 minutes, 4 seconds

what happened at Eno. Huh?

2 hours, 12 minutes, 24 seconds

Down.

2 hours, 12 minutes, 55 seconds

looking at Kinto.

2 hours, 13 minutes, 18 seconds

And finally, auto marking.

2 hours, 13 minutes, 48 seconds

Good morning. Um, what an amazing year we had. Lean, I don't know that the dress code or sneakers otherwise I'm

2 hours, 13 minutes, 55 seconds

going to put mine on because I see Dan also has sneakers. But uh I think it'll be frowned upon. Next time we'll do it.

2 hours, 14 minutes, 2 seconds

But um I also would like to just give a a very warm welcome to our members of the media. Thank you for taking the time to be here this morning. And um of

2 hours, 14 minutes, 11 seconds

course our component suppliers. A lot of our tier one suppliers are here. I've been fortunate enough to have met some of you already. Um and the important

2 hours, 14 minutes, 19 seconds

role that you play in our business. And then of course our dealer network. Um they are the guys that give me the gray hair. Um but we kind of work through it

2 hours, 14 minutes, 28 seconds

every year. But what an amazing bunch of people but an amazing bunch of business people. It's so nice to be associated

2 hours, 14 minutes, 35 seconds

with him and of course to the rest of the executives being invited for today.

2 hours, 14 minutes, 41 seconds

So I'm going to be talking all about what we're going to be doing as Toyota for the year. We had our team brief about

2 hours, 14 minutes, 48 seconds

two weeks ago and I I gave them our game plan, but I'm not going to go into that kind of detail for for today. So, I'm

2 hours, 14 minutes, 56 seconds

really just going to give you a very high level view um of what we're going to be doing for 2025.

2 hours, 15 minutes, 3 seconds

I just want to put it out there. We are not scared of our competitors.

2 hours, 15 minutes, 9 seconds

We're not. We do welcome it. We like it because it makes us better. and it and

2 hours, 15 minutes, 16 seconds

at the end of the day it we have to sharpen our game and that's the role that we have to play as a leading brand in the South African context and that's what we're going to be doing this year.

2 hours, 15 minutes, 29 seconds

I recall you know it was 2016 when um I had to fly to Japan. I was in charge of vehicle sales those days.

2 hours, 15 minutes, 38 seconds

And we started then really talking about what do we need to do as a company to make sure that we have an entry model

2 hours, 15 minutes, 47 seconds

range that we can fight because we knew what was going to come our way. And

2 hours, 15 minutes, 54 seconds

already those years the alliances discussion started.

2 hours, 16 minutes

Linked to that was our whole mobility drive that we were on about saying we want to create mobility for all. We want

2 hours, 16 minutes, 7 seconds

to give every single South African person opportunity to own a vehicle which is our mobility drive. We've been

2 hours, 16 minutes, 15 seconds

very very successful. I'll be sharing some numbers with you. We've been very successful in the entry market and of course we can see the price war that's going on in the entry market.

2 hours, 16 minutes, 26 seconds

We don't play price wars. We we don't drop our prices on our vehicles because that's the wrong strategy. You simply

2 hours, 16 minutes, 34 seconds

hurt your brand. You hurt your retail value of your brand because as you see on that video, we also have Automark which is our used car business which is very important to our dealer network.

2 hours, 16 minutes, 45 seconds

The last one being our multipath strategy.

2 hours, 16 minutes, 49 seconds

Oka Toyota many years ago said that's the direction we're going as a company globally Toyota Global and

2 hours, 16 minutes, 57 seconds

that's what we've been pursuing. We are the leader in South Africa in terms of our new energy vehicles and we will continuously grow and we will

2 hours, 17 minutes, 5 seconds

continuously find solutions to grow it even further going into the future.

2 hours, 17 minutes, 12 seconds

Now, I do like numbers and I like to talk about numbers because it's quite significant. If you look at that number,

2 hours, 17 minutes, 21 seconds

if you look at 2023, that was our highest market share ever recorded in the Toyota world.

2 hours, 17 minutes, 28 seconds

Last year was our second highest volume number that we've ever recorded. The highest number was 152,000.

2 hours, 17 minutes, 37 seconds

Now, to put it into context, this year we're going to go for 153.

2 hours, 17 minutes, 41 seconds

to be exact 153178. I don't understand why we didn't just round it off to 15320 but it's 153178

2 hours, 17 minutes, 51 seconds

and that's the number that we want to achieve this year. It's approximately 8%

2 hours, 17 minutes, 56 seconds

growth and we're going to go for it. But that market share and that volume that we managed to uphold and if you look at

2 hours, 18 minutes, 4 seconds

how we call it daiuno in Japanese we've been very very stable in our performance we cannot achieve these numbers if we

2 hours, 18 minutes, 13 seconds

don't have a stable manufacturing base if we don't have a stable supplier base

2 hours, 18 minutes, 20 seconds

we can't do it it's impossible. So again, the contribution that you've made in helping us achieve these numbers is

2 hours, 18 minutes, 27 seconds

is quite impressive. And then of course our dealer network for helping us get to these numbers. I'm I was so proud of

2 hours, 18 minutes, 34 seconds

these numbers last year because at substage it didn't look like we were going to get there,

2 hours, 18 minutes, 40 seconds

but the dealers really pulled it out of the bag and our manufacturing base supplied us the stock that we needed. So of course 46 years consecutive market

2 hours, 18 minutes, 48 seconds

leadership something to be very very proud of and a number of 148,000 and our plan is that we want to grow the

2 hours, 18 minutes, 56 seconds

business even more in the in the in the future.

2 hours, 19 minutes, 1 second

Let's quickly look at our sales performance and here we're going to be looking at product. Remember I spoke to you about what we did many years ago when we said we've got to have and we got to capture the entry level market.

2 hours, 19 minutes, 14 seconds

We're the only OEM in this country that has a model that sorry that compete in every segment of our market from a segment right up to premium.

2 hours, 19 minutes, 27 seconds

Plus we have the truck division as well which we're responsible for. We're the only OEM and this was intentional. This

2 hours, 19 minutes, 34 seconds

was strategic intent to play in every single segment of the market because we knew what was going to come to the South

2 hours, 19 minutes, 41 seconds

African market. To be honest, I didn't I didn't see the scale that we seeing it now, but we knew it was going to happen.

2 hours, 19 minutes, 48 seconds

But the scale that we're seeing is automotive insanity.

2 hours, 19 minutes, 54 seconds

Absolutely automotive insanity because it's coming at us so fast. Even we're sitting and looking at this saying,

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"What is next?" But just look at our share on small car. Our ambitious target that we've always set to ourselves was

2 hours, 20 minutes, 9 seconds

that we want to get to a 25% share. and it's still a target that we want to achieve. Currently, we're at 20%. So,

2 hours, 20 minutes, 16 seconds

the alliance has worked very well with for us, but also good for the other alliance. If you look at C and D segment today, I'm going to be giving you some

2 hours, 20 minutes, 25 seconds

good news around what we're going to be doing on D segment and the reasons why we're doing it. But you'll see that in the C segment, crossover segment, Corona

2 hours, 20 minutes, 34 seconds

Cross is absolutely dominant. Last year we sold a record number of 20 just under 22,000 Corona crosses for the full year

2 hours, 20 minutes, 40 seconds

of 2025 which was a big number. Then we have fortuna and within the the SUV section we have Land Cruiser.

2 hours, 20 minutes, 49 seconds

Don't know if you know this but when you look at Land Cruiser Prada last year was the number one seller at the high end of SUV.

2 hours, 20 minutes, 57 seconds

Believe it or not the second highest seller was L Cruz 300.

2 hours, 21 minutes, 2 seconds

Our plan now is after today you'll see is to grow that segment even more because we have aspirational customers

2 hours, 21 minutes, 10 seconds

that want to drive the brand called Land Cruiser and you'll be very surprised to what receive it. I mean you probably will know already because it's been all

2 hours, 21 minutes, 18 seconds

over on social media. Then we talk about LCV.

2 hours, 21 minutes, 22 seconds

This is where we are highly highly dominant in but we're not arrogant about

2 hours, 21 minutes, 29 seconds

it but we are very serious about protecting our LC market.

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We are very serious about protecting it and we will do everything in our power to protect it as much as what we can.

2 hours, 21 minutes, 42 seconds

Again going back to our supplier base,

2 hours, 21 minutes, 44 seconds

our manufacturing base to make sure that we get our vehicles on time, high quality, which we do get so that we can sell to our customers. Then of course

2 hours, 21 minutes, 52 seconds

both van and taxi. But look at heo. He know actually had a very good year last year. We've consolidated HEO because what's happening in the passenger side

2 hours, 22 minutes

of our business and LCV is now happening in heavy trucks.

2 hours, 22 minutes, 6 seconds

There's the the compet competitors are simply it's a price war already and it's mainly happening at our extra heavy truck section of our business. So what

2 hours, 22 minutes, 15 seconds

we're doing is we're saying let's consolidate our business. Let's focus on our after sales business and grow

2 hours, 22 minutes, 22 seconds

further step by step. But a 30% share is not bad and we are number three within the truck space within the South African context. I am pretty happy with that.

2 hours, 22 minutes, 33 seconds

It's a good place to be.

2 hours, 22 minutes, 36 seconds

If you look at Lexus performance is is really a good news story. I mean the premium segment is simply dropping

2 hours, 22 minutes, 43 seconds

radically dropping. Yet Lexus has grown our share from an average of about 1.9 to 3.5.

2 hours, 22 minutes, 51 seconds

This is a real good news story and this has a lot to do with the key strategies that we've we've changed our dealer representation of Lexus. We've reformed

2 hours, 22 minutes, 59 seconds

Lexus and we consolidated Lexus. He said, "We're quite happy to sell this,

2 hours, 23 minutes, 5 seconds

but we want our customers that experience Lexus must experience amazing." So, Leanne, please talk to us.

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We'll get you into Alexus very easily.

2 hours, 23 minutes, 14 seconds

The right people are sitting here that can help you. But this product is doing so well for us. And if you look at the

2 hours, 23 minutes, 22 seconds

model ranges that we've got now on Lexus, we are catering for that market.

2 hours, 23 minutes, 26 seconds

And we've seen this big jump from customers that run predominantly index is moving into the GX models. And we're seeing a lot of competitive movement

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into GX and now the Alex which is really good and that's why we see the growth.

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It's the first time since 2007 that we've achieved over a,000 units sales. So very proud of this number. I'm

2 hours, 23 minutes, 47 seconds

very happy with this number and this is what we're going to continue with. I've got to talk about Takata.

2 hours, 23 minutes, 54 seconds

You all have seen this. Um, we've uh we we've had the Takata airbag issue uh

2 hours, 24 minutes, 1 second

since 2007 when we started it. But it's not just the Toyota issue. There's a lot

2 hours, 24 minutes, 8 seconds

of other brands in South Africa that also have because we use the same component.

2 hours, 24 minutes, 13 seconds

Last year we've gone out very aggressively with campaigns. You've probably seen it in the social media where we really pushing customers to

2 hours, 24 minutes, 21 seconds

bring the vehicles into the dealer network so that we can replace those airbags. We call it one one a day campaign. We want each one of our

2 hours, 24 minutes, 29 seconds

dealers to at least do one a day so that we can get and finish all those vehicles. A lot of these vehicles are rural areas. It's very difficult to get

2 hours, 24 minutes, 37 seconds

hold of them. But as Toyota as a company,

2 hours, 24 minutes, 42 seconds

it's the right thing to do is to get every one of these vehicles in and repair them. Really, I'm reaching out to

2 hours, 24 minutes, 50 seconds

the others today saying, "Please help us because they also have vehicles fitted with these airbags and we will continue with this drive for the next year."

2 hours, 24 minutes, 59 seconds

something I'm I'm very excited about because you know we always talk about brand strategy where you going to put the brand how you going to manage the

2 hours, 25 minutes, 6 seconds

the different brands. Last year at the um at the global conference that was held in in Japan

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they announced the following which is called the Toyota or the global Toyota new brand direction approach. Toyota is

2 hours, 25 minutes, 23 seconds

the core. I think somebody one of the speakers spoke about Toyota being your trusted brand. It's your volume brand. I

2 hours, 25 minutes, 32 seconds

always tease I say they actually the Toyota brand pays the water and lights which is true. It's a such a dominant

2 hours, 25 minutes, 40 seconds

force globally. The Toyota brand is key for us. That's why it's the center of our business. The second one being

2 hours, 25 minutes, 47 seconds

Lexus. Lexus is the leader in technology. Lexus we we get a lot out of Lexus from a futuristic technology base

2 hours, 25 minutes, 54 seconds

which can also be used in Toyota but it's a it's a brand out there. It's a premium brand and it's a wellaccepted brand globally.

2 hours, 26 minutes, 3 seconds

Then we have the GR brand which we call Bakadoki.

2 hours, 26 minutes, 6 seconds

It's about excitement. It's about developing and the core function of GR is around development of future

2 hours, 26 minutes, 14 seconds

engineers, development of future technicians because those people are scarce. GR plays a fundamental role in developing

2 hours, 26 minutes, 22 seconds

of people but also creating exciting cars, ever better cars for our customers out there.

2 hours, 26 minutes, 30 seconds

Here's the exciting one which is Century.

2 hours, 26 minutes, 34 seconds

Century is now a core brand. Century was always only sold in the Japanese domestic market. It will now be

2 hours, 26 minutes, 41 seconds

available globally and I will really we will really push hard to get this brand into South Africa. But this is a very

2 hours, 26 minutes, 50 seconds

high-end brand and volume is not a discussion here. It's not a brand that we will push on volume but it's bespoke

2 hours, 27 minutes

defines what we call pinnacle of Japanese luxury.

2 hours, 27 minutes, 4 seconds

Last one being Datu. No news to most of you that we own Datu.

2 hours, 27 minutes, 11 seconds

We would really like to get more involved now in Datu in the South African context and give us an affordable option as a brand that we

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will definitely be investing in going into the future.

2 hours, 27 minutes, 23 seconds

At the global conference, they spoke about the Supercard Trio. Can I please play the the video?

2 hours, 27 minutes, 31 seconds

Heat.

2 hours, 27 minutes, 43 seconds

Heat.

2 hours, 27 minutes, 59 seconds

You're like a mom,

2 hours, 28 minutes, 5 seconds

you know, every time when when this was on the global stage last year. Andrew was fortunate enough to have been there. I would have loved to have been there.

2 hours, 28 minutes, 13 seconds

Um, it was so exciting. You know, you you look at what Toyota is doing and we talk about multipathway strategy. This

2 hours, 28 minutes, 20 seconds

is multipathway strategy. We are building high performance cars which is linked to new energy vehicles. This is

2 hours, 28 minutes, 27 seconds

what it is. Our plan is to bring these vehicles in next year. No, we're not going to sell a thousand a month. It's impossible. But we'll probably be bringing in between 10 and 14 next year.

2 hours, 28 minutes, 38 seconds

See how it goes. We'll be focusing on the road the road version. The track version is is probably later, but it's

2 hours, 28 minutes, 46 seconds

super expensive, but it's something that we're going to be definitely bringing in. And I'll touch more about it when I talk to you about Kazu and what we're

2 hours, 28 minutes, 53 seconds

doing on Gazu in terms of our factory and how this model is going to play a role within that because it's very bespoke. These vehicles will not be

2 hours, 29 minutes, 2 seconds

delivered at the dealer. So we're going to have a very different strategy on how we going to manage this very small volume and obviously the customers being

2 hours, 29 minutes, 11 seconds

completely different. Let's have a look at this next video around century.

2 hours, 29 minutes, 42 seconds

Heat. Heat.

2 hours, 30 minutes, 16 seconds

Absolutely stunning. There will be three models. One will be a obviously a sedan SUV and a sports coupe. That's what

2 hours, 30 minutes, 25 seconds

they're going to be looking like. And uh definitely not the ones in the back.

2 hours, 30 minutes, 28 seconds

Those were the old ones. Um and those ones that were mainly sold in in Japan.

2 hours, 30 minutes, 33 seconds

And I'll never forget the boys had one curtain um that they had in the back seat. I don't think it's going to work here, but that's what we're going to be

2 hours, 30 minutes, 41 seconds

bringing um hopefully in the years to come.

2 hours, 30 minutes, 46 seconds

Should I have this?

2 hours, 31 minutes, 30 seconds

Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.

2 hours, 32 minutes, 8 seconds

So that will be the Lexus LFA concept.

2 hours, 32 minutes, 11 seconds

Still a concept, but um once it's not a concept, we will most certainly be looking at bringing into South Africa.

2 hours, 32 minutes, 18 seconds

It's a full battery electric vehicle and I know one or two people that would love to buy one of these cars. Okay, I now

2 hours, 32 minutes, 26 seconds

want to talk about the new and upcoming offerings from 2006. We will be mainly focusing around there. And I'm going to

2 hours, 32 minutes, 33 seconds

invite to the stage a very funky looking guy by the name of Donovan Goliath. Um, who's the first time I've ever met him.

2 hours, 32 minutes, 40 seconds

Are you are you brothers with Jason?

2 hours, 32 minutes, 44 seconds

Jason on Oyic. That's because you know he always gives me he always gives me andrew a hard time. He has to introduce us. Why?

2 hours, 32 minutes, 52 seconds

I don't know. No, but you know what? And I I understand why. This is a very modest man right here, right? He should have started off with one of his biggest

2 hours, 33 minutes

accolades. Just last week, Leon over here voted Randberg's son's sexiest man

2 hours, 33 minutes, 7 seconds

in the automotive industry. You give him a round of applause.

2 hours, 33 minutes, 11 seconds

Now, stop with this humility. Announce your accolades every day. I just want to say just before we begin, um I have no

2 hours, 33 minutes, 20 seconds

problem being an influencer for one of those supercars that your shirt if you're I'm down. No problem at all. So please, thank you very much. Now that we

2 hours, 33 minutes, 28 seconds

know each other, what I do want to talk about, which I'm very excited about,

2 hours, 33 minutes, 31 seconds

somebody had mentioned just behind me there, um I've been told that 2026 is the year of the Hilux. So are we going to be revealing one of them here today?

2 hours, 33 minutes, 44 seconds

Do I need to start a countdown? We do a bit of a Mexican wave. Are there fireworks? What do we do to announce this Hilux?

2 hours, 33 minutes, 51 seconds

Donovan, I'm very sorry to say this, but no, no Hilux.

2 hours, 33 minutes, 55 seconds

No Hux today. I'm very sorry about it. I know that many people came probably to come and see the Hilux. Okay.

2 hours, 34 minutes, 1 second

But um just give us some couple of months and then uh we will come up with something bigger, okay? And worthy of waiting.

2 hours, 34 minutes, 8 seconds

Okay. Call me back. Call me back. Thank you very much first of all for giving me this tender. I know Jason often does it,

2 hours, 34 minutes, 15 seconds

but my debit orders are very very happy that I get to do this here today. If we're not revealing the highlights, what are we doing here today?

2 hours, 34 minutes, 22 seconds

So, um, we're going to start with, um,

2 hours, 34 minutes, 25 seconds

the D segment. You know, I spoke earlier about, if you look at our performance and desg,

2 hours, 34 minutes, 33 seconds

if I can put it easily, it's between Corolla Cross and Fortuna. Okay, there was an kind of where the RAF 4 plays but

2 hours, 34 minutes, 42 seconds

RAF 4 has been frankly speaking our only dominant force or trying to be the dominant force in this segment but we know what's happened in South Africa.

2 hours, 34 minutes, 50 seconds

It's the most contested segment in our space. So we've uh we've come with models that we believe will most

2 hours, 34 minutes, 58 seconds

certainly help us um grow our presence within the D segment and uh that's what I'm going to be revealing to everybody

2 hours, 35 minutes, 6 seconds

today. When did the raffle land in SA years wise? Yes.

2 hours, 35 minutes, 14 seconds

Now you're asking me now? Probably 10 years ago. 19th. Probably 10 years ago.

2 hours, 35 minutes, 17 seconds

When the first one it was much longer than that, right?

2 hours, 35 minutes, 20 seconds

1994. It was the first three door we brought in. Wow. Yeah. Actually drove one in Japan.

2 hours, 35 minutes, 27 seconds

I one when I stayed in Japan. I I had a three door. Incredible. Absolutely loved it. Okay. Yeah. I came out with a 2 L engine.

2 hours, 35 minutes, 34 seconds

Lovely stuff. So, what do we reveal today then? Let's have a look at our first reveal.

2 hours, 35 minutes, 47 seconds

The 60 reveal. Wow,

2 hours, 36 minutes, 3 seconds

this is a raffle. This is something about RAV 4. This is the whole new RAV 4. This is amazing.

2 hours, 36 minutes, 8 seconds

What do you think? This is the GR version.

2 hours, 36 minutes, 11 seconds

You know what it looks like? This looks like a RAV 4 with aromat.

2 hours, 36 minutes, 15 seconds

That's what it looks like. A RAV 4 with aromat. Like you've done a lot to it.

2 hours, 36 minutes, 20 seconds

Yeah. So, we'll bring it out in three versions. Obviously, it will be there will be a a GR, bespoke GR, but three drives, ice, hybrid technology, hybrid electric, and plugin hybrids.

2 hours, 36 minutes, 31 seconds

It's amazing. I mean, you guys obviously can't see a lot of the details here, but I mean, it's like fat fat spoiler at the back. Look at this. All of these

2 hours, 36 minutes, 39 seconds

details. Piano black. Like, you know, do not be surprised. I'm telling you,

2 hours, 36 minutes, 44 seconds

there's a kind of guy out there that is going to put a BBS rim on this thing or something or an Eagle rim. It's got those specs. This is lovely. Let's give a round of applause. This is amazing.

2 hours, 36 minutes, 52 seconds

This is This is sharp.

2 hours, 36 minutes, 56 seconds

I think what's what's what's important is that it's it's all new tech first for Toyota which is a 24 in multimedia which

2 hours, 37 minutes, 4 seconds

is really really something important for us and we're moving in that direction.

2 hours, 37 minutes, 8 seconds

So that is the first for us on this RAV and uh I mean just look at the design. I mean the beautiful design is is so futuristic and uh it's an amazing car. I

2 hours, 37 minutes, 17 seconds

mean inside the tech in this vehicle is it's uh it's it really is something something special. And another

2 hours, 37 minutes, 25 seconds

interesting stat about RAV, it's the number one car seller globally in our stable. The number one car seller in the world. Rav RAF.

2 hours, 37 minutes, 37 seconds

So it's so it's such an important model for us within that D segment that we want to compete in and uh I really think it's going to do very well. We've got plans for it.

2 hours, 37 minutes, 47 seconds

It definitely is going to do well. This is honestly probably the one time I can say you're going to pull up to the car meet in a RAV 4 and that's a RAV 4.

2 hours, 37 minutes, 55 seconds

You're going to be confident to pull up. It's really amazing. Well done. Very nice. Absolutely. Can I take it to the next one? Let's go.

2 hours, 38 minutes, 2 seconds

That's okay. Let's have a look at exciting stuff.

2 hours, 38 minutes, 26 seconds

I love this. This music is very very sexy. It's your playlist. That's all I want to know.

2 hours, 38 minutes, 32 seconds

It's always a big discussion with the PR team. Okay.

2 hours, 38 minutes, 34 seconds

You know, they you know, they they've got Tik Tok music which I don't really understand, but I don't know. Is that Tik Tok music? I don't know. I don't think so. Wait, it's NJ. So,

2 hours, 38 minutes, 45 seconds

no, no, no, no, no. You must pronounce it right. It's Land Cruiser. FJ, not FJ. Land Cruiser.

2 hours, 38 minutes, 53 seconds

Land Cruiser.

2 hours, 38 minutes, 54 seconds

This is Land Cruiser DNA. It's all It's a proper four-wheel drive ladder ladder frame that you can go anywhere with.

2 hours, 39 minutes, 6 seconds

It's It's got the name Land Cru and it's called the Land Cruiser FJ. Very funky.

2 hours, 39 minutes, 12 seconds

You can see the design. Um, and you know, as I said earlier, you know, Land Cruiser, if you look at product sales being dominant in that SUV space, um,

2 hours, 39 minutes, 23 seconds

then Land Cruiser Theo, but we know that we have customers that aspire to drive the brand Land Cruiser. Yeah.

2 hours, 39 minutes, 29 seconds

And we believe that this will fill that gap and hopefully continue dominating in the space of Land Cruiser. We believe Land Cruiser EFJ will do that for us.

2 hours, 39 minutes, 38 seconds

It's so beefy.

2 hours, 39 minutes, 39 seconds

It is. Do you know what's nice about this guy? You're going to get into this car and people will go, "Yeah, this is a subtle way of showing that he's wealthy.

2 hours, 39 minutes, 46 seconds

It's got that it's got that thing about it." Very nice. Very, very nice car.

2 hours, 39 minutes, 50 seconds

And and you know, I mean, the the the accessory packages that you were able to put onto this vehicle is going to be it's going to make it even look better from every angle.

2 hours, 39 minutes, 59 seconds

Yes. From every angle. Very very nice.

2 hours, 40 minutes, 2 seconds

So full of you like you mentioned earlier. So full offro cap. I can capability. It will it will it will go where any other 4x4 goes without a doubt. Very very nice.

2 hours, 40 minutes, 12 seconds

Wow. And I like the color. Beautiful color. Yes, absolutely.

2 hours, 40 minutes, 18 seconds

Okay. Are we jumping straight into the next one or do you want to You can talk. What would you like to hear?

2 hours, 40 minutes, 24 seconds

No, no, no. But you maybe I mean I mean the question is and I think the media will probably want to know that. I mean is this enough for us to fight the

2 hours, 40 minutes, 33 seconds

desgment? Um, well, it's going to help without a doubt and we will we will do our best. But we've got something else as well that we're going to put into

2 hours, 40 minutes, 41 seconds

this segment um with a completely different drivetrain. But, um, RAV is an iconic model as I said earlier, it's the number one seller.

2 hours, 40 minutes, 49 seconds

The Land Cruiser, the name just Land Cruiser name is is so embedded. I've said to you yesterday it's it's the master of Africa.

2 hours, 40 minutes, 57 seconds

Yes, of course. And um it's really going to help us really build our D segment that we are so serious about wanting to tackle.

2 hours, 41 minutes, 5 seconds

Who are you thinking of putting into this car here? So I mean you got your big boy Land Cruiser guys. Who gets into this car?

2 hours, 41 minutes, 13 seconds

So you know it's very you have your Hilux customers that always aspire to drive a Land Cruiser. We know they are.

2 hours, 41 minutes, 19 seconds

They sure now your top of the range Hilux is more expensive will be more expensive than this. But the point is you are

2 hours, 41 minutes, 27 seconds

there are Hilux customers within the South African context that drive the cheaper version of a Hilux we believe

2 hours, 41 minutes, 33 seconds

will aspire for this and I'm hoping that we will attract from some of our competitors um into this Land Cruiser FJ

2 hours, 41 minutes, 42 seconds

because it will be more affordable and I mean you're driving a Land Cruiser which which I suppose is good.

2 hours, 41 minutes, 49 seconds

Do you is this going to be um what do you call it? So, previous gen FJ um owners,

2 hours, 41 minutes, 58 seconds

is this the one you're wanting them to jump into?

2 hours, 41 minutes, 59 seconds

I think they will. Um I don't know if all of them will, but that vehicle is so iconic in the way. Um but I do believe

2 hours, 42 minutes, 7 seconds

we have we have a strong feel and sense that current FJ customers will move into the new Land Cruiser FJ.

2 hours, 42 minutes, 16 seconds

Forgive me if this is a profanity, but what I love about this car, it's badass.

2 hours, 42 minutes, 21 seconds

Like if you get this in you get it in the all black. Can you get a black and black on black murdered out version?

2 hours, 42 minutes, 26 seconds

We probably will the murdered out. That's what the car magazine you know you know it all it all depends on what the market would want and you

2 hours, 42 minutes, 34 seconds

know that's something that we can adjust as we go along but usually we set our paint colors but it will be very very modern kind of paint colors that we'll

2 hours, 42 minutes, 42 seconds

select for for Land Cruiser FJ and I think it will appeal. you know, I think a lot of young mothers will buy into this vehicle because of

2 hours, 42 minutes, 49 seconds

the space, um, you know, with sports kits, etc., etc. I think I think we're going to see a lot of young mothers driving this vehicle without a doubt because of the offering it can give you.

2 hours, 43 minutes

You can drive at the city, you can take it on, open race,

2 hours, 43 minutes, 2 seconds

pick up the kids from soccer, then head to Madis. No problem. Absolutely. Absolutely.

2 hours, 43 minutes, 6 seconds

Lovely stuff. Cool. What else can we move on? Let's go.

2 hours, 43 minutes, 9 seconds

Okay. So let's go and have a look at um we're going to now talk new energy vehicles um obviously but before I do that I I remember myself and Andrew

2 hours, 43 minutes, 18 seconds

spoke about this about 3 to four years ago where we said a part of multi multipath is also we got to diversify

2 hours, 43 minutes, 26 seconds

our business um yes we are a car company but we got to diversify and it's something that we've been having a lot of discussions with our dealer network as well to say

2 hours, 43 minutes, 34 seconds

you've got to diversify your business now that doesn't mean you got to go and buy a Chinese dealer. But what we are saying is maybe you need to diversify

2 hours, 43 minutes, 43 seconds

your business in other areas of their extra revenue income. And this is what we've been looking at as a company quite aggressively. We've been we've been

2 hours, 43 minutes, 52 seconds

having business units around circular economy, carbon neutral fuels, different options for carbon which also applies which could be obviously helped on on on

2 hours, 44 minutes, 1 second

trucks and then of course our EV ecosystem that we that we're busy developing which is really around charges um the EV readiness you know all

2 hours, 44 minutes, 11 seconds

of these things are part of that whole ecosystem and we will obviously expand on it and then on fuels there's a lot of exciting stuff happening on fuels um you

2 hours, 44 minutes, 19 seconds

know spoke about um hydrogen ice for example. We have what we call now flex

2 hours, 44 minutes, 26 seconds

fuel where you can have a truck and not now ready but it's something we're working towards. You'd have a he truck that could run on hydrogen as well

2 hours, 44 minutes, 34 seconds

combined with diesel which again brings down the cost of ownership for customers that into the truck business. These are the flexible

2 hours, 44 minutes, 42 seconds

options that we're looking at as a company but not just for tier that we're looking at as a total package for all our brands going forward. And then of course we're looking at circular economy

2 hours, 44 minutes, 51 seconds

things like um localized battery um recycling facilities. You know what are we going to do with all these batteries

2 hours, 44 minutes, 59 seconds

in all the hybrid technology plug-in hybrid of course battery electric. So this is another area of of business that

2 hours, 45 minutes, 6 seconds

we are looking at and circulate that within uh within the market and obviously make make some revenue out of it. We have to do this because the

2 hours, 45 minutes, 14 seconds

impact of new energy vehicles into our business is quite substantial. Yeah,

2 hours, 45 minutes, 19 seconds

you know what we've seen happen in Europe, if you look at pure battery electric vehicle, your revenue drops by

2 hours, 45 minutes, 26 seconds

60 to 50%. Quite easily because they don't need the maintenance that a normal ice engine needs. So our multipass

2 hours, 45 minutes, 33 seconds

strategy is what we are following and there's six pillars to it that we believe that hybrid plug-in hybrid and to a smaller degree battery electric

2 hours, 45 minutes, 41 seconds

will play a role within the South African context but also ice. Quick question and maybe it's just me but there might be somebody here thinking about it as well. This is the difference between hybrid and plug-in hybrid. Well,

2 hours, 45 minutes, 53 seconds

hybrid so plug-in hybrid is the difference between the two is that plug-in hybrid's

2 hours, 45 minutes, 59 seconds

got a BEV option. Okay. Hybrid has got a hybrid is normal hybrid. It's battery electric motor and Okay.

2 hours, 46 minutes, 7 seconds

Sure. battery plug-in hybrid has got that plus it's got you can drive on its own on battery electric without using your hybrid system. So

2 hours, 46 minutes, 16 seconds

that's the beauty of it. The other thing about plug-in hybrid which is we believe is the best technology not just for South Africa but probably globally is

2 hours, 46 minutes, 24 seconds

that it's regenerated its own power to charge the battery via a brake input downhill and also it's got

2 hours, 46 minutes, 34 seconds

an option where you can press a button where it actually selfches the battery through the engine.

2 hours, 46 minutes, 39 seconds

So the story of that you have to rush to a charging station is actually not necessary on a plug-in hybrid. You would drive from here to Cape Town in a

2 hours, 46 minutes, 47 seconds

plug-in hybrid, for example. You'll do 100ks on the battery and it will automatically switch over to hybrid technology. You can carry on to drive to Cape Town. That's fundamental change.

2 hours, 46 minutes, 58 seconds

It's very expensive technology, but we believe with the growth in plug-in hybrid. It will it's all about scale. You know, you need scale.

2 hours, 47 minutes, 5 seconds

Yeah. I mean, that's the the like kind of deterring factor. I think you had spoken about it earlier, you know,

2 hours, 47 minutes, 10 seconds

people are going h not too sure. It's not the case. You know if you the technology is there and the technology will work. We know it will work. Uh and

2 hours, 47 minutes, 19 seconds

we just need to have a clear I mean we have to we have to adapt to what customers want but we also want to give customers options.

2 hours, 47 minutes, 27 seconds

This is the Toyota philosophy. We want to give customers options as to what drivetrain they actually would want. Can we move on? Yes.

2 hours, 47 minutes, 34 seconds

I've got another reveal that I would like to show you. Let's have a look at this reveal.

2 hours, 47 minutes, 40 seconds

I say I'll be right now. You know,

2 hours, 47 minutes, 58 seconds

that's an EV. That is a full battery electric BZ4X. You see,

2 hours, 48 minutes, 7 seconds

let me tell you the first thing I like about this, and I think Bulam had mentioned it earlier. I love that

2 hours, 48 minutes, 14 seconds

we've kind of broken the what do you call it? Let me take one step back. It

2 hours, 48 minutes, 21 seconds

always bothered me that EVs looked like dishwashers. Like there just like there was no character to them. Just felt like

2 hours, 48 minutes, 28 seconds

I don't drive an EV because it just looks like an EV. We don't need to make EV cars look like EV cars. This looks like a This looks like something I want to pull out today.

2 hours, 48 minutes, 36 seconds

It's got It's got um I think an easy way of explaining it. It's got some sle in it.

2 hours, 48 minutes, 42 seconds

So that's exactly it because if you if you sit in it and you and you get you look at it inside

2 hours, 48 minutes, 49 seconds

you this is everything Toyota because it's Oh yes.

2 hours, 48 minutes, 52 seconds

It feels like a It feels like a normal car.

2 hours, 48 minutes, 55 seconds

Yeah, exactly. But it's battery electric. Um it's got all the technique that you want. um ranges up to about 400

2 hours, 49 minutes, 3 seconds

450 depending on how you drive I suppose you get to 500 but I've personally driven this vehicle last year in Japan and what

2 hours, 49 minutes, 12 seconds

impressed me the most about it is of course the smoothness of it we all know battery electric vehicles are smooth the game changer VZ 4 is the X mode and I'm

2 hours, 49 minutes, 22 seconds

sure the media X mode it's called the X mode it's it gives you a off-road ability which is the probably the first for for battery

2 hours, 49 minutes, 30 seconds

electric and when driving the vehicle in those conditions. We drove it on a Land Cruiser test track. Okay, we didn't go over big rocks and stuff, but the point

2 hours, 49 minutes, 38 seconds

is it was muddy, it was rocky. This vehicle inclines, the downclines, it drove exactly where I could drive with an L cruiser 300. What impressed me the

2 hours, 49 minutes, 47 seconds

most I was always Andrew was moved much quicker to becoming a BV fan than me. Me and him always talk about it. But I've I

2 hours, 49 minutes, 55 seconds

have made the switch because if BV can give you that um and and we can long-term have a solution around the

2 hours, 50 minutes, 4 seconds

battery anxiety, I think this is the way to go if customers prefer to buy battery electric because it gives you everything. The off-road ability of this

2 hours, 50 minutes, 12 seconds

vehicle is what absolutely impressed me and it's got down ascent. It's it really is incredible. Um and I completely changed my mind. What I like about it,

2 hours, 50 minutes, 24 seconds

as you said, if you drive any other BEV,

2 hours, 50 minutes, 27 seconds

it feels like a B because they're very similar in design. We've kept the Toyota design internally. Love it. And it's a B because it's got so much other features,

2 hours, 50 minutes, 36 seconds

big wheels. It's higher. Um, and you'll be seeing our marketing campaign that we're going to be running on this. It's really going to be focused around what this vehicle is capable of.

2 hours, 50 minutes, 46 seconds

Somebody made you guys angry and you are fighting at the moment cuz this is incredible. This will be another model that we're going to be fighting the D segment.

2 hours, 50 minutes, 55 seconds

Oh, really? Also the D segment that will fit 100% into D segment and we're giving our network ideal network options now

2 hours, 51 minutes, 3 seconds

where we can actually really compete um within this highly competitive segment.

2 hours, 51 minutes, 8 seconds

That's incredible. I love give that a round of applause. That's amazing.

2 hours, 51 minutes, 14 seconds

We can mess around with the crew and save the world at the same time.

2 hours, 51 minutes, 17 seconds

Fantastic. So those those guys that tell you that uh you know the the Golf GTI and the RSIs and uh are quicker. Look at

2 hours, 51 minutes, 26 seconds

that. 0 to 100 5.1 seconds. It's pretty impressive. When uh when we drove this car in Japan, we went on one of our test

2 hours, 51 minutes, 34 seconds

tracks and I was blown away by the performance of this car. Really, I was. And I'm a a V8 lover. Yeah.

2 hours, 51 minutes, 41 seconds

But that car kind of blew me away. It really did. EV8, if you will.

2 hours, 51 minutes, 45 seconds

Yeah. It really it really was impressive. Excellent stuff. Can we move forward? Please go.

2 hours, 51 minutes, 52 seconds

Okay. So, obviously this is not a reveal, but it's something just to talk about within the RAF force space. We'll also be launching, we already spoken

2 hours, 52 minutes

about it around plug-in hybrid and and hybrid technology. So, we will continue with that. Um and again, you know, it

2 hours, 52 minutes, 7 seconds

will help us create more um options for customers going into the future. um you know plug-in hybrid as I said we don't

2 hours, 52 minutes, 15 seconds

expect massive volume but we will definitely bring it into the market and we will we will fight as hard as what we can on the on this give you an idea if

2 hours, 52 minutes, 24 seconds

this idea if you go ahead with it and it makes money there are a lot of people here and we are filming this this EV rev 4 if you do not change it to rev4

2 hours, 52 minutes, 34 seconds

you are wasting everybody's time here on that's the new logo let's go okay so let's look at the next review and also it's not a physical reveal but

2 hours, 52 minutes, 42 seconds

it's going be on. It's on display outside.

2 hours, 53 minutes, 5 seconds

So, this is now the uh the all new Corolla Cross GR version um that we'll be launching um this year

2 hours, 53 minutes, 13 seconds

and very excited about it. Some nice subtle changes to it. You know, we've made some nice changes inside. Actually,

2 hours, 53 minutes, 18 seconds

I drove one two days ago. I was I was very impressed with it. Um, even on the power side of it, I'm not talking

2 hours, 53 minutes, 25 seconds

massive power, but it the car is just feels differently, feels differently dynamically. And it's, of course, as you know, it's it's locally built.

2 hours, 53 minutes, 34 seconds

Beautiful stuff. We love it. Let's go. Let's go.

2 hours, 54 minutes

Now we're launching Land Cruiser 300 first time with hybrid technology. It's one motor hybrid. It's it's performance version of hybrid. Okay.

2 hours, 54 minutes, 10 seconds

It really is it's really been launched in Alex Lexus. So it's something that uh that is quite bespoke for this customers

2 hours, 54 minutes, 18 seconds

that drive these vehicles. Firstly, we know they can afford them. But the point is is that a lot of our Lisa customers have been demanding from us saying,

2 hours, 54 minutes, 25 seconds

"Give us other options. Give us other drivetrain options." And hybrid technology is the way to go. And uh we very very excited about this. We're

2 hours, 54 minutes, 34 seconds

launching in the ZX model, petrol only and the GRS version as well of the Land Roa 300. Huh. Very excited.

2 hours, 54 minutes, 42 seconds

This is a big car.

2 hours, 54 minutes, 43 seconds

It's very tech to make this thing perform the way current customers are expecting it to perform. Yes. It'll be better than current.

2 hours, 54 minutes, 52 seconds

Wow.

2 hours, 54 minutes, 53 seconds

Because of the one motor hybrid technology. So, it it really is impressive. I mean, if you need me to test it. No problem. I I got it. I got it.

2 hours, 55 minutes, 2 seconds

It was here. We can, you know, let's look at the next review.

2 hours, 55 minutes, 27 seconds

I love it. I love it. You got one part outside as well.

2 hours, 55 minutes, 31 seconds

Actually, the sequence was wrong. But um can we please reveal the Lexus?

2 hours, 56 minutes, 2 seconds

Okay, that's the all new RZ Lexus full battery electric sport.

2 hours, 56 minutes, 10 seconds

Yeah.

2 hours, 56 minutes, 11 seconds

Also, um it's equipped with X mode, same as what you saw on I explained to you on the BZ.

2 hours, 56 minutes, 19 seconds

And um look at that steering wheel. This is a Formula One style steering wheel. This is amazing. Yeah. Isn't it?

2 hours, 56 minutes, 27 seconds

Oh my gosh. Yeah. This is This is my size.

2 hours, 56 minutes, 31 seconds

This is absolutely my This is the one that you want to be the influencer.

2 hours, 56 minutes, 34 seconds

I could be anyone at this point. I think I I could be the influence for all four of these cars. That's the way it's going right now. This is This is very very slow. I mean, haven't started it yet.

2 hours, 56 minutes, 46 seconds

Haven't jumped. I mean, I we haven't even moved in this car, but it feels like something that I want to get on take on. Again, you know, if you look at

2 hours, 56 minutes, 54 seconds

because of the X mode in it, you can see, you know, the height, the wheel size, and it really is it really

2 hours, 57 minutes, 1 second

something that gives customers options when they drive battery electric. I think that's what's important. Um, and we it shouldn't just be a battery

2 hours, 57 minutes, 9 seconds

electric. People should talk about different things when they're done when they're battery electric. That I suppose that is the message.

2 hours, 57 minutes, 15 seconds

And once again, you know, props to the styling. Like this thing is just beautiful. Like every angle. It is. It

2 hours, 57 minutes, 22 seconds

is very aggressive styling at the back as well.

2 hours, 57 minutes, 26 seconds

Lovely stuff. Let's go. Do we have a different version of this? Like cuz you mentioned earlier that we have uh something a bit more aggressive in the style.

2 hours, 57 minutes, 36 seconds

It will come. I mean, just look at the kilowatt. Um, I mean, the F Sport 300 kW.

2 hours, 57 minutes, 42 seconds

It's it's it's serious power for a battery electric. But the next one is something I really want to share with you. Okay, let's go. We don't have a vehicle here, but

2 hours, 57 minutes, 51 seconds

it's this. It's called the RZ 600E battery electric. Now,

2 hours, 57 minutes, 56 seconds

now, did you ever imagine that a battery electric would look this sexy? No, this isn't. This is the one.

2 hours, 58 minutes, 3 seconds

Would you convert a V89 to buy this? Oh,

2 hours, 58 minutes, 6 seconds

absolutely. In a heartbeat. We can do it right now. You think so?

2 hours, 58 minutes, 11 seconds

But hey, look at this car. I mean, if you look at the design, 315 kW,

2 hours, 58 minutes, 17 seconds

um, I mean, carbon fiber roof,

2 hours, 58 minutes, 21 seconds

uh, 20-in wheels. Are we getting it in SA? Very aggressive. Will it be coming to SA anytime soon?

2 hours, 58 minutes, 28 seconds

Yes, it will. It will come this year.

2 hours, 58 minutes, 32 seconds

Sh. Let's give that a round of applause because that is it really is nice beautiful design you

2 hours, 58 minutes, 41 seconds

know I mean shock the the I think the shift that you see is when you talk about battery electric and what Lexus has done is create the

2 hours, 58 minutes, 50 seconds

excitement around walking that I spoke about earlier on. Yes.

2 hours, 58 minutes, 53 seconds

Being excited about driving something different but still gives you a car like feel. That is really what we want. People love cars. We love cars.

2 hours, 59 minutes, 3 seconds

So, we want to make sure that goes into what we sell to our customers.

2 hours, 59 minutes, 7 seconds

And that's the thing. I mean, you could easily manipulate people into I mean,

2 hours, 59 minutes, 10 seconds

the styling could, you know, you could make this thing look cool, but if it doesn't perform the way it looks, cuz you're expecting grunt coming out of that thing.

2 hours, 59 minutes, 17 seconds

Very nice. Okay, let's go to J.

2 hours, 59 minutes, 21 seconds

So um GR Racing you know we we built together with our partner who's um who's

2 hours, 59 minutes, 28 seconds

the owner of this business um under the under the brand name called um GR Racing. We've now built a fully

2 hours, 59 minutes, 36 seconds

established manufacturing facility in Midrand.

2 hours, 59 minutes, 40 seconds

Um it's about 90% complete. They're already manufacturing building. The whole idea around this was motorsport motorsport's an expensive thing.

2 hours, 59 minutes, 51 seconds

Yeah.

2 hours, 59 minutes, 52 seconds

And for us to make this sustainable into the future and to build a business model was important. So it's one thing saying,

2 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds

"Oh, but Toyota, you must just give the money." It's not how it works. You got to build a business that can kind of look after itself.

3 hours, 6 seconds

Yeah. And this was the idea behind building this factory where we can produce our own vehicles which we've always done for many many years but this

3 hours, 14 seconds

is high-tech. We can produce 90% of components that we manufacture. We are manufacturing it by ourselves within this facility. So it's quite impressive.

3 hours, 25 seconds

It does look like a showroom though. Not a It looks like like a museum almost.

3 hours, 29 seconds

It's got Please honor when you have I would love to take you there. I mean you must see this place. That's what it looks like. And then they got their machining rooms,

3 hours, 37 seconds

they got their lathes, they got everything in this facility and they literally build that dwar vehicle from scratch right up. Wow.

3 hours, 45 seconds

What we're also doing is we are our our GTC vehicles later on all our our GR cup vehicles will also be we want to bring

3 hours, 53 seconds

things inhouse and we need to maintain our costs and by doing that is you build your own factory and you contain your cost and you

3 hours, 1 minute, 1 second

contain your what you build and produce and also you know what you're producing.

3 hours, 1 minute, 5 seconds

Yeah, because then it becomes your own IP. So that was really the thinking the thinking behind it and we're going to evolve. Now going back to the GRT that

3 hours, 1 minute, 14 seconds

we will be launching next year. The idea is is that these customers that buy a 7 to 8 million rand car definitely wants a

3 hours, 1 minute, 23 seconds

different experience. You can't have an all um salesman at a dealer selling and delivering this car. This car is such high tech.

3 hours, 1 minute, 31 seconds

Yes. You need engineers to actually explain to the customer how this car actually works. So of course the network will be involved. They will create be

3 hours, 1 minute, 39 seconds

creating some of the leads but the handover will be done at this facility because what I haven't told you yet part

3 hours, 1 minute, 46 seconds

of this facility is a showroom ah a proper GR showroom that we're going to be building where this vehicle will

3 hours, 1 minute, 54 seconds

actually be delivered to the to the customer. The handover together with the dealer will be done at this facility.

3 hours, 2 minutes

the maintenance, the servicing will be done by this facility because of the high-tech nature of the the GRG. So,

3 hours, 2 minutes, 8 seconds

it's first time we're doing this. Um,

3 hours, 2 minutes, 10 seconds

you know, it's it's new and I mean, the dealer model is not built for this.

3 hours, 2 minutes, 15 seconds

Like a like a nice customized personal experience like when your car leaves that floor, you feel like you've been a part of it all.

3 hours, 2 minutes, 22 seconds

Absolutely. And and I mean a lot of these guys when they buy these cars, they already know what they're buying. Of course,

3 hours, 2 minutes, 26 seconds

because some of them own many of them own Ferraris and Porsches.

3 hours, 2 minutes, 29 seconds

Yes. So this car, he already done his research. He knows what this car is about. He wants to talk to an engineer that actually shows him the car. How do

3 hours, 2 minutes, 37 seconds

you start this car as a process of its own? Yeah. And never mind driving it. So, you know,

3 hours, 2 minutes, 41 seconds

that's the kind of experience we want to give the customer in the future. So, I'm very excited about it. Very nice.

3 hours, 2 minutes, 48 seconds

Okay. So, let's have a look at the next reveal.

3 hours, 3 minutes, 12 seconds

So, under the the GR banner, yeah,

3 hours, 3 minutes, 16 seconds

we'll be launching um it's it's more of a facelift than anything else. Some spec changes. We can launch it with 8-speed automatic edition.

3 hours, 3 minutes, 23 seconds

Yep. those little scoops that you see on the bonnet. Um, and some nice small exterior design changes. So,

3 hours, 3 minutes, 30 seconds

even at hips, that's what's nice about it. I know. I think so. It looks aggressive. I like it as well. But linked to this,

3 hours, 3 minutes, 37 seconds

um, it's the first time that we're doing this. We're also going to be launching GR parts. So, we have a lot of customers, customers that buy this product that wants a different

3 hours, 3 minutes, 45 seconds

suspension setup. We want something different than this car. We're now going to be able to supply them as well with parts, which is really what we want to do. Is this only for GR owners?

3 hours, 3 minutes, 55 seconds

GR owners.

3 hours, 3 minutes, 56 seconds

Okay. So, I can't go in there with the standard the standard Corolla and go.

3 hours, 4 minutes

I suppose you can take a you can take a Corolla old Corolla hat and try and beef it up if you want to. I mean, I don't I wouldn't suggest you do that because a

3 hours, 4 minutes, 9 seconds

lot of the stuff that's engineered into this vehicle is is engineered for this cuz you got you'll have a stiffer stiff shop absorb different. So, your your

3 hours, 4 minutes, 18 seconds

design is going to be different. So, I wouldn't I wouldn't say that. There are at least five people here who go a casc could be something like that with in Limpopo in Eastern Cape Ca GR. Let's go.

3 hours, 4 minutes, 30 seconds

It'll happen.

3 hours, 4 minutes, 30 seconds

Okay. So, the next one is around our GR cup that has been so successful. Yep.

3 hours, 4 minutes, 36 seconds

Um and uh let's quickly show this video that I'll talk about. Seven journalists,

3 hours, 4 minutes, 44 seconds

seven races,

3 hours, 4 minutes, 46 seconds

unlimited ambition. Our 2026 media challenge drivers are

3 hours, 4 minutes, 54 seconds

from Super Sport Noil Abdul

3 hours, 5 minutes, 1 second

from Auto Trader Hayeta News 24

3 hours, 5 minutes, 10 seconds

Craig Nicholson for the witness at Algoa FM. Naresh

3 hours, 5 minutes, 18 seconds

Maharaj representing ENCA.

3 hours, 5 minutes, 25 seconds

Justin Ford from KM on cars. Kim Chagazi

3 hours, 5 minutes, 34 seconds

and Kunali on wheels. Brandon Jacobs.

3 hours, 5 minutes, 47 seconds

Are they here today?

3 hours, 5 minutes, 48 seconds

They are. Are they here? Stand up. Stand up. Where are they? Please stand up.

3 hours, 5 minutes, 53 seconds

There they are. Give them a massive round of applause.

3 hours, 5 minutes, 58 seconds

I suppose congratulations. They'll be very competition this year.

3 hours, 6 minutes, 3 seconds

Congratulations. And you know the media has played such a important role for us um in this in this GR cup.

3 hours, 6 minutes, 11 seconds

Yes. Um, and uh, I mean, I'm so incredibly grateful for what for what they've done for us in the exposure that they've given us and it's all around the

3 hours, 6 minutes, 18 seconds

GR brand and I really want to thank the previous drivers that uh, that's been doing it for us. There's just one actually there's just two requests

3 hours, 6 minutes, 26 seconds

please on my side. Um, don't get blood pressure going on a Saturday because I have to then also calm him down. So

3 hours, 6 minutes, 35 seconds

please don't prank the cars. Uh the second thing is the cars that you drive are not included in my parts targets on all. So so please don't don't think

3 hours, 6 minutes, 43 seconds

you're helping me. So keep it on the road but most importantly be safe and have fun and enjoy it. And uh it's really an honor for us to have you part of us in that. Thank you. Well done.

3 hours, 6 minutes, 55 seconds

I also have to say you know we also have dealers that um aspire to become racing drivers. So they are also they also have

3 hours, 7 minutes, 4 seconds

cars that they race with. um with the Germans. Okay.

3 hours, 7 minutes, 7 seconds

And um it's quite interesting to see them drive.

3 hours, 7 minutes, 10 seconds

Wait, you I felt I sounded like a bit of sarcasm.

3 hours, 7 minutes, 14 seconds

Some of them are really good drivers. I must be honest, but they but what I like about the group of dealers that's actually participating in this. They're

3 hours, 7 minutes, 21 seconds

passionate about cars. They're passionate about the GR brand and it just helps us build what we've always been saying about building this GR. just

3 hours, 7 minutes, 29 seconds

it's a global push but as South Africa we really intend to build it even stronger and it's because of these activations that help us do that. So both of them thank you very much.

3 hours, 7 minutes, 39 seconds

Amazing.

3 hours, 7 minutes, 40 seconds

Okay. Um the last one I want to talk about is um we're also going to now be going into what we call the G cup rally

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challenge and um also one of our journalists will be driving the car.

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It's actually parked outside. Um, I said to Mark, Mark is Mark Jones. Where is he? Mark, please give him a hand. He's the bravest man.

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I don't know if he's you're brave or what. Why are you doing this? But please keep it on the road.

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No, but but I'm also again grateful, you know, that that Mark is prepared to do this.

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Um, I mean, we're not the the rally scene has has dropped a lot and you know, G and his team are trying to really build it up more and I think with

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having people like Mark who's an absolute petrol lead participating in it um and again just enjoying it is really the exposure that we want.

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Fantastic to you Mark. Well done, man.

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It was an absolute honor having you with me. I I really enjoyed it.

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Appreciate you. Um, thank you for being who you are and um, we can maybe talk about very heartfelt.

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Yeah, it is. It's been wonderful. Thank you.

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Give this man a massive round of applause. Thank you very much, sir.

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Andrew, I'm going to call you up to the stage and then Leanne, I think.

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Yeah. So, I I know I meant to be facilitating this Q&A, but if you can find me, then good luck to you, cuz

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Leon, you remember you said that you've got a mommy car. I jumped into the mommy car without a drive off.

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It's stunning. It's stunning. I've been having some fun looking at these cars.

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They're unbelievable, guys. I can't wait till you get a chance. Um, yeah. I tried to figure out how I was going to drive away, but I couldn't. So, here I am.

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That was stunning. Gosh, did you guys enjoy that? What did you think? Awesome. I think so. I think so. Okay,

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quick a quick Q&A. So, let's take a couple of questions just to sort of see.

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Okay, there we go. Always and I'll first hand up there. What's your name, by the way? Brendan from Morilla Media. Brendan, I'll give this one to you.

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Reports are that that FJ is going to have a 2.7 petrol motor. That motor is also about 25 years old. Are you is

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Toyota South Africa able to use their size and sway to get a diesel model for local consumption?

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Thanks uh Brandon for that question. Um yes, we are launching it with a with a 2.7 engine. 100% right.

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And we already discuss we also believe that his most

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discuss is not

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question

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2.4 No, definitely not. Definitely not. No,

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definitely not.

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Simply turbo petrol with the one motor hybrid.

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Yeah, that's what it is. Hovering around 340 kW. Yeah, that's a performance here. And that's why I said about, you know, launching it with a one motor hybrid.

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It's super. It's got a lot of performance. When you drive it, you'll feel it.

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Um, any other questions? All right. It looks like we we're not,

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but I I'd love to if there's anything sort of you want to end off with,

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Andrew, because we sort of it I'm not sure after we've seen these reveals and the exciting year ahead. I don't know if you want to just add anything to close off.

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No, thank you very much. Really appreciate everybody attending today. I I think we we doing it in an environment where we do have a lot of a lot of

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change. Um the auto industry in South Africa is going through a tremendous amount of turmoil. But we very focused

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on how do we respond and adapt and uh ensure that on the one hand we we

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respond to the market changes but also balance our manufacturing ambitions to contribute to the continent and I think

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as was discussed earlier this is this is the fine the fine balance that we need to that we need to have. On the other hand, I did say at the beginning of the

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session that we'll reveal some of the elements around uh our our emissions to become a lot more resilient, but also to compete in a in a far more active way.

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We'll have to wait and see for those announcements to come later in the year.

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Unbelievable guys. It has been an absolute pleasure.

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Andrew Leon, thank you. and we can only but sort of feel that we're in good hands to navigate through these really

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difficult but wonderful times. It's not kid this is this is we are moving into a new era and you guys are at the helm of it and we thank you so much for the work

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that you've done and to keep on bringing out these amazing things and representing the brand so beautifully in South Africa. Well done. Well done.

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Let's give them both.

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So ladies and gentlemen, that 20 or so brings us to the end of the formal proceedings for um Somi 2026, but as

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you've heard, uh this is the I'm I'm almost feeling like there's going to be a second Somi this year because it looks

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like we've only spoken about half of the year and there's another exciting half still to come. So I I don't know what it is, but I got a feeling it's it's going

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to be really really exciting. this 2026 is a is a year where anything can happen, but it just feels different. It

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feels like something exciting is going to happen and and I'm I'm I'm happy to be a part of it. I really am. So, this is pretty much so, as I said, the end of

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of this formal part. Lunch is served upstairs. Please enjoy your time here.

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Don't rush off. Have a look at these vehicles. These are just the ones here.

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There are some more outside as well. and you're going to get a gift bag on your way out. And I've been told that there's a a new magazine that's going to be in

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there that's available in a digital copy as well. And that's um part of the Lexus the Lexus brand. But what a what a

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magnificent morning it's been. It certainly has been some food for my brain and I hope it's been the same for you. Have a fantastic year and we really

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look forward to meeting again very very soon. Thank you so much everyone for being here and take care. Thank you.

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Bye-bye. Oops.

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money.

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I'm standing on the way.

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Oh, I want you

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Spanish.

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There's a lot of teachers race.

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