Call for government's support to unlock opportunities in SA and on continent

ISUZU Motors South Africa is on the up and up, but its president, Billy Tom strongly believes there’s room for improvement, especially on the African continent.

- WILLEM VAN DE PUTTE

Tom spoke to IOL and Independent Media at the recent launch of the company’s Isuzu MU-X.

“It's going very well, but we’re not immune to the challenges of South Africa. We went through Covid, fortunately, we were not as harshly impacted as some of the other manufacturers. We were beneficiaries of the growth of e-commerce over the period,” he said.

“We export only into Africa, and it has been good to us and being new, just over five years as Isuzu SA, we still maintain good relationships with Japan, so yes, we're in a good space and excited about what lies ahead.”

Tom says there are future opportunities on the horizon for the company.

“I’m working on convincing Japan that we are the anchor for Africa. With the African Free Trade Agreement, there’s a huge opportunity for us,” he said enthusiastically.

“The commercial space (Isuzu also manufactures chassis cabs for medium, heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicles at their plant in Gqeberha) is also doing well.

“We're seeing some of the bigger municipalities replacing their fleet, so we're happy but not complacent.

New frontier

Africa, though, is the new frontier.

“The next opportunity is on the continent, and our contribution to the business outside of South Africa is not where I wanted to be. We've put the necessary focus and we've seen some good returns, but last year was not the best year.”

Tom says that elections around the globe also had an impact.

“If you look at the elections on the continent and around the world, half the population went through elections. Whenever you have elections, there are some post-election anxieties.

“If you look at South Africa, we voted in May, and I think the government of national unity was only confirmed in August because the guys spent July negotiating.