After more than five years at the helm of Suzuki Auto South Africa (SASA), Kazuyuki Yamashita has returned to Japan to take up a new assignment at Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC). He is replaced by Yukio Sato.
 
“I am sad to be leaving South Africa,” said Yamashita before his departure for Japan. “While I have been at the helm of SASA for the past five-and-a-half years, my involvement with the country stretches back much further. In 2006, I commenced the feasibility study that would eventually lead to SMC establishing an operation in South Africa, and I visited the country frequently during that process.”
 
Yamashita said the time spent in South Africa was both challenging and satisfying.

“When SASA started trading in June 2008, the global economy was buoyant, and the growth forecasts for SA indicated a total vehicle market of 1-million units by 2012. But, by November of that year, the credit crunch had plunged much of the First World into recession, the Japanese yen had strengthened by almost 50% against the rand, and our costs had effectively doubled. Our entire business plan had to be revised.”
 
Yamashita believed that the strength of the SASA dealer network, combined with a high degree of customer satisfaction, had been at the core of Suzuki Auto’s success thus far. However, the time had now come to build on that solid foundation.
 
“The next important step for SASA is to increase its sales and its presence in the South African market. It is a vital assignment, and one that my successor will oversee with great vigour and enthusiasm. I wish him all the best in his new position, and trust that he will be made as welcome by this country and its great people as I was.”
 
Yamashita will be based at the SMC head office in Japan, from where he will oversee Suzuki’s operations in Pakistan, which includes a large assembly plant.
 
Yukio Sato joins SASA from SMC in Japan, where his most recent assignment was to oversee several Asian markets, including Indonesia and Vietnam.
 
He has been with Suzuki since graduating from university. His overseas experience includes working in countries such as  Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Korea, India and Pakistan.
 
“My mission is to double Suzuki Auto’s sales in South Africa,” says Sato. “Yamashita and his team have built a solid foundation, and now it is my task to build on that platform.”

SASA’s 2012 sales numbered 4 724 units.
 
Sato believes that introducing new products, and thus expanding the range of Suzuki models currently available in South Africa, is key to growing the brand in the country.

“We need to extend the model range, and then, expand the dealer network,” he adds.
 
“We will also need to market both Suzuki’s cars, and the brand itself, more emphatically than before – especially since South African motorists tend to favour premium European marquees. But, by offering a wider range of models, and entering new segments, Suzuki Auto will not only attract more buyers, but also become an even stronger brand.”