Durban mayor meeting Toyota after it threatens to leave Durban

[PsyWulf]

It's all fun and games and free TVs till somebody has to pay the bills(salaries),then the tears come

 

[ToxicBunny]

Gotta love the comments about moving to the western cape... Some people's blinkers are just amazing to watch

 

[Moosedrool]

Gotta love the comments about moving to the western cape... Some people's blinkers are just amazing to watch

It’s a cape town thing. They actually believe it’s some kind of utopia but it’s just another dreary SA city with loadshedding, water shortages and reducing profit margins.

The lazy hipsters there are in many cases worse for the economy than the people they point fingers at.

 

[The_MAC]

Imagine the shock and horror when a Quantum has to be imported at a higher price.. Then we will have proper riots

 

[envo]

This is more or less how BMW pulled out from the EC as well before investing in manufacturing locally.

 

[TheChamp]

Imagine the shock and horror when a Quantum has to be imported at a higher price.. Then we will have proper riots

Have you seen the amount of Taxis that look like the Quantum? Chinese has a couple of them and Nissan also has one, it will be Toyota who will be losing out, the taxi market will continue as usual.

 

[Mekon]

Assurance from a Zuma butt licker? Thats rich. I'm sure the lying thieving incompetent cANCer will do what's right. (For themselves) you know African excellence and all that.

 

[markings]

Toyota just move production to the Western Cape, where things actually work

i wonder how long. After quite some time I drove on the R300 again and the number of new shacks almost right up to the fence was mind boggling. All new zinc structures. That shows how many people are flooding into the Cape, most of them probably voting ANC. Once the ANC is in power we can say goodbye to good or at least better governance than the rest of the country.

 

[The_MAC]

Have you seen the amount of Taxis that look like the Quantum? Chinese has a couple of them and Nissan also has one, it will be Toyota who will be losing out, the taxi market will continue as usual.

Don't insult the taxi industry, they have style..

 

[RudderVator]

Have you seen the amount of Taxis that look like the Quantum? Chinese has a couple of them and Nissan also has one, it will be Toyota who will be losing out, the taxi market will continue as usual.

Well surely if the Chinese knockoffs are indeed so good at a way lower price then why don't the Taxi industry use them all over the show? Because they can't handle the wear and tear that an average South African taxi driver can inflict on a vehicle.

For a taxi boss it is all about profit margin and reliability. Same reason why one mostly sees Toyota for uber drivers.

 

[TheChamp]

Well surely if the Chinese knockoffs are indeed so good at a way lower price then why don't the Taxi industry use them all over the show? Because they can't handle the wear and tear that an average South African taxi driver can inflict on a vehicle.

For a taxi boss it is all about profit margin and reliability. Same reason why one mostly sees Toyota for uber drivers.

I never said anything about them being so good and lowly priced, that's your creation, not that I agree or disagree with it.

The point I am making is that there are options and the taxi industry won't fall apart when Toyota leaves. Besides the quality of Toyota, Santaco and other taxi associations have deals with Toyota for better payment plans and discounts, they have a long standing relationship, that's why there are so many of them around.

 

[ToxicBunny]

I never said anything about them being so good and lowly priced, that's your creation, not that I agree or disagree with it.

The point I am making is that there are options and the taxi industry won't fall apart when Toyota leaves. Besides the quality of Toyota, Santaco and other taxi associations have eals with Toyota for better payment plans and discounts, they have a long standing relationship, that's why there are so many of the around.

Very much this.

There are standing financing deals and sweeteners for Taxi Owners to buy Quantums from Toyota.

If you look around, many Taxi Owners with a decent sized fleet will be driving around in a Fortuna or Hilux... Ever wonder why?

 

[PrettigeGert]

Gotta love the comments about moving to the western cape... Some people's blinkers are just amazing to watch

Indeed, the western cape is also not what it was as little as a few years ago.

Roads are still great but maintenance is not where it used to be.
Vagrants everywhere, the city has clearly lost the ability to control that.
The same with informal settlements.
And ignoring the crime in the western cape is very naive as well.

 

[TheChamp]

It's difficult for Toyota, that Mayor is not exactly someone who inspires much confidence, but it looks like he is on his way out, let's see what the ANC comes up with.

My only consolation is that the Premier and the chair of the ANC seems to at least grasp the seriousness of the situation even though he also seems to be paralyzed by the politics of the province.

 

[ToxicBunny]

It's difficult for Toyota, that Mayor is not exactly someone who inspires much confidence, but it looks like he is on his way out, let's see what the ANC comes up with.

My only consolation is that the Premier and the chair of the ANC seems to at least grasp the seriousness of the situation even though he also seems to be paralyzed by the politics of the province.

I actually don't think its difficult for Toyota, or any of the large multinationals that have footprints in SA (or even specifically in the affected areas). The Mayors/Premiers etc will walk into those meetings expecting a discussion and negotiation when the big boys will be laying down the law to them.

Yes Toyota don't necessarily WANT to leave SA because its been good for them in many ways, but if they don't get what they want in terms of security guarantees from the local government they will begin the processes of pulling out.

 

[R13...]

It's difficult for Toyota, that Mayor is not exactly someone who inspires much confidence, but it looks like he is on his way out, let's see what the ANC comes up with.

My only consolation is that the Premier and the chair of the ANC seems to at least grasp the seriousness of the situation even though he also seems to be paralyzed by the politics of the province.

Not sure. That city has always had a retard as mayor. Sutcliffe was disconnected from reality. Gumede was RET, corrupt and crazy. This current one seems to sympathize with looters. The premier himself is torn between the practicalities of destruction and his sympathies with Zuma. He's straddling the factions.

 

[ToxicBunny]

Not sure. That city has always had a retard as mayor. Sutcliffe was disconnected from reality. Gumede was RET, corrupt and crazy. This current one seems to sympathize with looters. The premier himself is torn between the practicalities of destruction and his sympathies with Zuma. He's straddling the factions.

Sutcliffe was never the mayor though... he was Municipal Manager. Obed Mlaba was mayor during Mike's tenure from what I remember.

Whilst disconnected from reality, he actually wasn't all that bad for the city in general even though he did lots of stupid shyte.

 

[TheChamp]

Not sure. That city has always had a retard as mayor. Sutcliffe was disconnected from reality. Gumede was RET, corrupt and crazy. This current one seems to sympathize with looters. The premier himself is torn between the practicalities of destruction and his sympathies with Zuma. He's straddling the factions.

True, the odds of stumbling upon a half decent politician to be mayor are too great.

I understand the constraints of political factions, Sihle is struggling with them but he is one of the few amongst the lot who appreciates the seriousness of the situation. He understood the importance of Ramaphosa winning at Nasrec, even though he did not explicitly campaign for him he made the place less hostile for Ramaphosa, despite the unpopularity of doing that in KZN, that for me counts for something.

With KZN being such a lost cause it is a stretch to hope for something better but we never know.

 

[donal]

My cards are on Toyota packing. Those images of destruction are something the Japanese are all too familiar with.

I second those odds, although perhaps over a 3 to 5 year timeline as these kinds of riots will be rinse and repeat until something fundamental changes. A country like Botswana is far more stable and has (slightly) friendlier labour policies. The big multinationals can't fail to notice that.

 

[ToxicBunny]

I second those odds, although perhaps over a 3 to 5 year timeline as these kinds of riots will be rinse and repeat until something fundamental changes. A country like Botswana is far more stable and has (slightly) friendlier labour policies. The big multinationals can't fail to notice that.

Botswana wouldn't be a viable option for Toyota.. too far from the sea to ship vehicles out.

If Toyota pulls out of SA, they will just bolster the capacity at a place like Thailand