[imagesource: Autodata.net]

Toyota vehicles have become some of South Africa’s most loved cars, with the automakers on top of the market in terms of new-car sales for March.

But unfortunately, the brand is having to battle knock after knock as issues in the local and global supply chain persist.

If the COVID-19 pandemic, a global chip shortage, the war in Ukraine, and another shutdown in Shanghai haven’t damaged Toyota’s bottom line, then the disaster caused by floods in KwaZulu-Natal last month certainly has.

Toyota has sold almost 9 000 vehicles across the country in April, but is now warning that it could face stock challenges in the coming months, reported BusinessTech:

“April is traditionally a slow month for retail due to the numerous public holidays – but the situation was compounded by the flooding at our plant in Prospecton, Durban.

“We are anticipating stock challenges with regards to our locally-built models such as Hilux, Fortuner, Corolla Cross and Quest, Hiace Ses’fikile and some Hino models,” said Leon Theron, the group’s senior vice president of sales and marketing.

Shame. Not a vibe.

Toyota’s Prospecton plant is doing its best to restart operations after being shut down from severe flood damage, per Moneyweb:

Andrew Kirby, president and CEO of Toyota South Africa Motors, said it is only once they commence with [the necessary phases for reopening] that they will “be able to adequately judge the realistic lead time to resume production”.

“As you can imagine, there will be a mountain of repairs to be made, along with many parts that will need to be ordered. It would therefore be irresponsible of us to call a start-up date until we have the full picture. We anticipate firming up dates within the next week,” he said.

Thousands of water-damaged vehicles had to be scrapped, while only 500 units managed to pass inspection.

As you can imagine, Toyota is not the only business taking strain from this extreme weather event, with the country’s overall automotive sector struggling, too.

That’s because KZN is the second-biggest contributor to our gross domestic product, and Durban is critical for getting things going in the industry.

60% of the country’s shipments are handled at the Port of Durban, which can cause a major snowball effect when part of the chain is affected.

[sources:businesstech&moneyweb]