Engineering News

Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) announced on Friday that its president and CEO, Dr Johan van Zyl, had been appointed as the CEO of Toyota in Africa, as part of a major restructuring announced by Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) in Japan.

The new position, which assigned all executive responsibilities in Africa to Van Zyl, would cover all aspects of the company’s automotive business on the continent, including product planning, sales, manufacturing and exports.

The changes in executive management followed the new strategic direction set by Toyota’s Global Vision plan, which was announced in March 2011.

As part of Global Vision the company called for more “local initiative in management”, stating its intention of devolving strategic implementation to the various major regions.

Apart from Van Zyl’s appointment, TMC had also announced that it would divide its operations into four divisions that would be best suited to drive its targets for profitable growth.

The new divisions were Lexus International, which incorporated all activities surrounding the luxury Lexus brand; Toyota Number 1, which incorporated North America, Europe and Japan; Toyota Number 2, which included China, Asia, the Middle East, East Asia and Oceania, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean; and Unit Centre, which incorporated engine, transmission and other vehicle-unit-related operations.

Within this new regional division, Van Zyl’s previous position as deputy chief officer of the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean and Latin American region fell away, and he would now serve solely as CEO of the Africa region. This included retaining his responsibilities as TSAM president and CEO.