CFAO South Africa (SA) subsidiary Toyota Tsusho Africa, and Ogihara Thailand, have started construction of a new R1.2-billion plant that will produce vehicle body parts for Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM).

The JV will be known as Ogihara SA, with the plant located in the Dube TradePort (DTP), in Durban.

TSAM will contribute R545-million to the new facility and the JV R630-million.

TSAM’s vehicle assembly plant is located in Durban.

The new facility will localise the production of small and medium automotive stamped body parts that are currently being imported from abroad.

It is estimated the plant will require 25 000 t of locally procured steel a year.

Production is set to start in July next year.

The facility should boost TSAM’s local procurement by an estimated R700-million a year.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau says the investment will increase the local content on the Hilux (the next-generation model), Fortuner and Corolla models assembled at the TSAM plant for the local and export markets.

He says the investment will create 250 new jobs, with a further 1 040 indirect jobs added through the value chain.

Tau adds that the economic relationship between South Africa and Japan is steadily growing, with roughly 130 Japanese companies invested in South Africa.

Ogihara Thailand is a subsidiary of Ogihara Corporation in Japan. It has manufactured automotive tools, dies and stamped parts for vehicle and truck manufacturers since 1990.

The Ogihara SA JV is an exciting first expansion into Africa, says Ogihara Thailand CEO Hiroshi Morita.

“This JV will further expand Toyota Tsusho Africa’s service offering into the manufacturing environment, which is aligned to our strategy to promote local assembly and production in South Africa by partnering with foreign component manufacturers,” notes Toyota Tsusho Africa MD Wayne Bowyer.

"The inclusion of Ogihara South Africa in our local manufacturing ecosystem will not only create new job opportunities, but also enhance our capabilities in producing high-quality body parts for the automotive industry,” adds TSAM president and CEO Andrew Kirby.

“This joint venture marks a significant step towards TSAM’s local-value-addition improvement strategy by localising the production of these critical components.”

CFAO SA CEO Andrew Velleman adds that the joint venture further strengthens CFAO Group's commitment to expansion in South Africa.

"We are excited about the significant positive impact and value this new plant will bring to the automotive industry and the broader economy. We will continue to drive innovation, growth, transformation and sustainability in the automotive sector."

Ogihara SA’s 32 000m² site is located in DTP’s TradeZone 2.

DTP says the new facility is the single largest investment it has secured since its inception alongside Durban’s King Shaka International Airport.

Ogihara SA is the second automotive sector investor to set up in DTP after Mahindra SA commissioned its vehicle assembly facility in 2018.