Toyota dealers to order vehicles directly from factory

Toyota Tsusho Corporation is the distributor of Toyota vehicles in various African countries including Uganda where it owns Toyota Uganda Limited. File photo

What you need to know:

  • Toyota Tsusho Corporation has operations in 53 African countries where it employs more than 10,000 people.
  • Its presence in the continent got a big boost when it bought out French conglomerate CFAO Group in 2012, bringing dealers like Kenya’s DT Dobie into its fold.

Nairobi. Toyota subsidiaries across Africa will be making vehicle purchase orders directly from the factory without going through sales and marketing representatives of automaker Toyota Motor Corporation.

The move seeks to increase efficiency and competitiveness of the vehicle dealerships on the continent.
Toyota Tsusho Corporation is the distributor of Toyota vehicles in various African countries including Uganda where it owns Toyota Uganda Limited.

“On June 1, 2018, the group and TMC entered into a memorandum of understanding regarding a transfer of TMC’s entire sales and marketing operations in the African market to the group by a tentative date of January 2019,” Toyota Tsusho Corporation, said in a trading update, adding:

“The group and TMC have since been formulating an action plan to execute the transfer of operations.”
Toyota, which owns a 21.69 per cent stake in Toyota Tsusho Corporation, has a marketing office in Japan coordinating sales of vehicles in African countries from its subsidiary Toyota South Africa.

The operational restructuring is meant to sharpen Toyota’s focus amid an increasingly competitive business environment.
“In this urgent time, there is no room for intra-group competition; the future of the Toyota Group depends on enhancing its competitiveness as a united whole,” the Japanese vehicle manufacturer, said in a statement.

Toyota Tsusho Corporation has operations in 53 African countries where it employs more than 10,000 people.
Its presence in the continent got a big boost when it bought out French conglomerate CFAO Group in 2012, bringing dealers like Kenya’s DT Dobie into its fold.

Ordering

Previously dealers have been ordering for Toyota cars through Toyota Tsusho Corporation.