President and CEO of Toyota South Africa Motors Mr Andrew Kirby has taken to the stage. Kirby says the industry is currently going through some disruption, both in Mzansi and internationally. He says one of the ways Toyota deals with disruption is through adaptation.

While volumes were very high in 2025 - almost 600 000 units - most cars sold were in the bottom end of the market.

Kirby says Mzansi used to export 19% of production into Africa. That number is now about 6%. Domestic sales need to increase, as well as Africa exports, in order to strengthen the local manufacturers. #SOMI2026

Mzansi needs to start manufacturing more New Energy Vehicles (NEVs), including Hybrid, plug-in Hybrid and full Electric Vehicles. This is important because the export market, especially Europe, demands it. Otherwise this country will be left behind. #SOMI2026

Of all the NEVs sold in Mzansi in 2025, Toyota (including Lexus), held a whopping 58% share. #SOMI2026

Kirby reckons that in the right environment - and he absolutely believes this is entirely possible - the Mzansi automotive industry could increase production, domestic consumption and exports by around 20%. This would have a significant knock-on effect on job creation, and value

On stage now is Goolam Ballim from the Standard Bank Group. Ballim says the world is at the cusp of a different way of doing things, such as automotive supply chains. The world is now prioritising power, coercion instead of efficiency. As a result, costs in general will

Ballim says while the United States is and will remain an economic powerhouse in the coming decades, that country now has a serious challenger in China. China is extremely strong in current and upcoming resources, including rare Earths and intellect. Also interesting is that

Amongst the good news specific to Mzansi is that there has been an uptick in job creation. Not high, but definitely notable, according to Ballim. This then helps increase consumer spending on such items as cars. #SOMI2026

About a decade ago, Mazda sold about 9 different models in Mzansi. Eight of those sold in 3 digits (over 100 units) each, every month. Today Mazda sells around 215 cars a month in total in Mzansi.

Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) President and CEO Andrew Kirby is known for making an annual sales prediction for the Mzansi market at SOMI. For 2026, Kirby says he expects the market to sell around 630 000 new vehicles, up from the ~597 000 units sold in 2025. #SOMI2026

At #SOMI2026 Toyota unveiled a number of new models that are scheduled to arrive in Mzansi over the next 18 months or so. I'll start with the new RAV4, launching this year. It will include petrol and Hybrid versions.

Toyota's FJ Cruiser has been rebooted as the Land Cruiser FJ, making it the baby of the LC family. These pics were taken at #SOMI2026 . In real life it's no baby at all, bringing height and spaciousness, as well as the company's trusted 2.7-litre engine to the fore. And of

Toyota fans in Mzansi can finally boast about their own branded electric car, in the form of the randomly-named bz 4x. Shown here during #SOMI2026 , the EV features AWD and a claimed range of around 500km. Sales will begin some time this year.

Lexus brought out the big electric gun at #SOMI2026 . The new RZ 550e is a full EV worth 300kW and a range of 450km, according to its maker. Lexus also says it will sprint from 0-100km/h in a mere 4.4 seconds. But probably the coolest bit about the RZ 550e must be the steering

Hung out with the good people from Toyota at the Lover's Rock event in Muldersdrift. Hits left right and centre, no misses.

BIG NEWS! Toyota owns Daihatsu. As part of its expansion plan, the company is seriously considering bringing the brand back into Mzansi. Daihatsu has been here before, but was imported independently. Such a move would lessen Toyota's reliance on Suzuki, since Daihatsu also

Audi says it will start selling the latest-generation Q3, Q5 and RS 5 in Mzansi this year. Although we don't know which body types exactly (Sportback/ sedan/ Avant, etc), it might be fair to speculate that all of them would be available, given the target audiences and direct