Programme Director,
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Reverend
Musa Zondi,
President and CEO of Toyota South Africa Motors, Mr Andrew Kirby,
Representatives of business,
Representatives of organised labour,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good afternoon.

Today is about much more than the launch of a new vehicle.

It is about confidence in South Africa. It is about the enduring value of long-term investment.

It is about the strength of South African workers, engineers, technicians and entrepreneurs.

And it is about our shared determination to build an economy that produces, innovates, exports and creates jobs.

That is why it is a great pleasure to join you today as we celebrate the official line-off of the ninth-generation Toyota Hilux.

Few vehicles have earned the affection and trust of South Africans as the Hilux has.
For more than half a century it has travelled our highways and city streets, our farms and mines, our construction sites and small towns. It has crossed rivers, climbed mountains and travelled countless kilometres on our gravel roads.

The Hilux has become part of the South African story.

Although it carries one of the world’s most respected automotive brands, we proudly regard the Hilux as a South African vehicle because it is designed for our conditions, built by South African hands and exported from South African shores.

Today’s milestone therefore celebrates not simply another model rolling off an assembly line. It celebrates Toyota South Africa’s continued confidence in our country and in its people.

The R10.4 billion investment in the new-generation Hilux programme demonstrates precisely the type of investment that South Africa seeks to attract.

These world-class facilities further strengthen Prospecton’s position within Toyota’s global manufacturing network.
But the true measure of this investment is not found in machinery or buildings.

Its true value lies in the opportunities it creates.

It lies in the thousands of South Africans whose livelihoods depend on this plant.
It lies in the workers whose skills continue to grow.

It lies in the supplier companies that have expanded their production.

It lies in the young people who will find employment because businesses such as Toyota continue to invest in our economy.
This is what inclusive industrial development looks like.

At the sixth South Africa Investment Conference earlier this year, I said that investors reward execution, not merely commitment.

Investment announcements matter.
But completed projects matter even more.
Factories that are expanded. Machines that are installed. Workers who are employed. Exports that leave our ports. Communities whose prospects are transformed.

Today’s occasion is powerful evidence that South Africa can convert investment commitments into tangible economic outcomes.

It is also a reminder of the powerful multiplier effect of industrial investment.
I understand that approximately one-third of Toyota’s investment has been directed towards strengthening local supplier capacity and tooling, while suppliers themselves have invested an additional R2 billion to expand localisation.

That is how resilient industrial ecosystems are built.

That is how domestic manufacturing capabilities deepen.  That is how small and medium enterprises grow.

And that is how sustainable economic development is achieved.

The automotive industry remains one of the great pillars of South Africa’s industrial economy.

It contributes around five per cent of our gross domestic product.  It supports more than 115,000 direct manufacturing jobs and over half a million jobs across the
value chain.

South Africa is today the world’s twenty-first largest vehicle producer.

These achievements have not happened by chance.

They have been built over decades through partnerships between government, manufacturers, organised labour and suppliers.

It is precisely this partnership that will enable us to compete successfully in a rapidly changing global automotive industry.
Around the world, the industry is undergoing one of its greatest transformations since the invention of the motor vehicle.

The transition towards cleaner mobility, changing consumer preferences, new technologies and evolving global trade patterns requires every producing nation to adapt.

South Africa must not merely respond to these changes.

We must lead where we have competitive advantages.

Toyota South Africa has already demonstrated its readiness to embrace this transition.

As government, we are equally determined to ensure that our policy and regulatory environment enables the industry to compete successfully in this new era.

We are strengthening incentives for component manufacturing.

We are supporting battery value-chain development.  We are promoting research, innovation and skills development in new-energy vehicles.  Above all, we are providing policy certainty that encourages investment, localisation and long-term growth.

South Africa possesses another important competitive advantage.

We are richly endowed with many of the critical minerals that will power the industries of the future.

If we combine these natural resources with advanced manufacturing, local beneficiation, technological innovation and world-class automotive production, South Africa can become a leading global hub for future mobility.

This is an opportunity we intend to seize.
To unlock that opportunity fully, we must continue improving the efficiency of our logistics system.

Reliable ports. Efficient railways. Modern infrastructure.  These are not simply transport assets.  They are economic infrastructure that determines our global competitiveness.

We therefore welcome the encouraging improvements in the performance of our freight rail network and our ports.
In the ten months to February this year, Transnet’s vehicle terminals in Durban, Gqeberha and East London handled more than 792,000 fully built vehicles—the highest productivity levels achieved in recent years.

Through deeper public-private partnerships in rail and ports, we will continue strengthening South Africa’s position as a globally competitive export platform.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The world remains uncertain.  Competition for investment has become more intense.

Every nation is striving to attract capital, technology and talent.

South Africa will compete by building a stable macroeconomic environment, implementing structural reforms, improving infrastructure, strengthening institutions and expanding partnerships with investors who share our long-term vision.

Toyota has been one of those partners for many decades.

Today you have once again demonstrated your confidence in South Africa.

We value that confidence.

We intend to earn it every single day.

Let me conclude by expressing my sincere appreciation to the leadership of Toyota South Africa Motors, to the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, the Government of KwaZulu-Natal, the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, organised labour, suppliers, contractors and every employee who has contributed to this remarkable achievement.

Most importantly, I salute the men and women of Prospecton.

Every Hilux that leaves this production line carries with it your skill, your discipline, your
craftsmanship and your pride.

As this new generation of Hilux begins its journey across South Africa and around the world, may it also carry a powerful message:

That South Africa is open for business.
That South Africans can compete with the very best in the world. And that when government, business and labour work together, there is no limit to what our nation
can achieve.

I thank you.