Toyota South Africa’s CEO, Dr Johan van Zyl has been appointed CEO of Toyota for the whole of Africa. Van Zyl maintains responsibility for South Africa, where Toyota is the most sold car brand.
This new position will give van Zyl responsibility for all aspects of the company’s business, which includes: product planning, sales, manufacturing and exports. His appointment forms part of Toyota’s Global Vision, which calls for “local initiative in management” and devolved strategy within the various regions where Toyota operates.
“My challenge is to make sure Toyota in Africa has the right products this year,” said Dr van Zyl. “People think that African countries do not have a desire for varied models of car, but they do and we are keen to supply them.”
“The group has a lot of interest in Africa. We have training academies in Kenya, Cameroon and one in North Africa. The challenge is to train people to the correct company-wide standard (and) to have enough people working in Toyota offices.”
