INSIGHT | Isuzu CEO Billy Tom will intensify African expansion

Billy Tom took the helm of Isuzu Motors SA (IMSA) during a turbulent period. His tenure kicked off in June 2020 – amid the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic. Reflecting on four years of leadership, Tom has no intention of coasting, envisaging the next chapter of the company. This includes intensifying its growth in other African countries and positioning SA as the hub for Isuzu on the continent.

Transformation is an area Tom cites as among his successes. At the time of his appointment, he was the first black CEO of a motor manufacturer in SA.

“We never share a lot about who leads Isuzu, if you look at the leadership and makeup – it is a bunch of South Africans,” he told Sowetan Motoring in an interview at the IMSA Johannesburg office. “Of our eight board members, four are black, for the last five years, we are Level 1 BEE, it is not just about meeting the minimum – but achieving the maximum and making a difference.”

Tom gave a reminder that the formation of IMSA did not come easily, after the disinvestment of General Motors (GM). The CEO has a decorated leadership history, including key roles at GM and Coca-Cola. He also serves as the president of Naamsa, the national automotive business council. 

The Gqeberha plant operations of IMSA lay claim to being the second-biggest for the firm, outside its main Thailand plant – as well as being the first operation globally to be wholly owned by Isuzu in Japan.

Though IMSA is a consistent top 10 player on the monthly new vehicle sales charts, Tom said the business has not been impervious to myriad challenges. High interest rates, the rising cost of living, logistic issues at national ports eating into buffer stock and loadshedding were among the issues listed by Tom. Last year, IMSA spent R50m on generators to mitigate productivity losses over erratic power supply.

A buying-down trend and delay in replacing vehicles was noted by the CEO, but he said that IMSA was fortunate for its business-to-business trade. A large portion of its customers are fleets and companies, with predetermined replacement cycles – meaning guaranteed business for IMSA. For July, IMSA reported 2,072 new vehicle sales in total, combining passenger LCV and commercial, ranking sixth overall. Tom is hopeful that there is a more defined market upturn on the horizon. He is among the 105 CEOs part of Business Leadership SA who signed a pledge to work with the government on key issues, from logistics to infrastructure, combating corruption and forming solutions for electricity security.

“It is one thing talking about problems, but different when you raise your hand to be part of the solution, some of the improvements at the harbours and recent appointments at Eskom and Transnet, give hope that we are sorting out the problem, we are all looking forward to the first rate cut this September and the government of national unity is a stroke of magic, fuelling the optimism.”

Presently, Tom is directing greater focus towards business endeavours on the African continent. Though most of the global motor trade is touting a shift towards electrification almost in entirety, Tom is of the view that there remain opportunities with internal combustion engines; particularly where Africa is concerned.

“The issue we have in Africa is that we are not trading with each other, the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement opens up a huge market of 54 countries, my drive is to prepare ourselves for that.” Tom also hinted at trade across the ocean, referencing South America as holding potential for export vehicles. In the next two to three years, Tom hopes to create additional shifts at the Gqeberha plant.

“A second shift at our plant will have a knock-on effect on suppliers’ shifts, it will create employment.” In addition to expanding business opportunities, Tom said one of his visions is to build an organisation that reflects the makeup of SA, ensuring equal opportunities.

Launching the latest version of the D-Max, around pandemic-related difficulties, was another feather in Tom's cap. The vehicle was supposed to be introduced in November 2020, but Covid-19 restrictions meant setbacks in certain developmental aspects.

“The programme was delayed – as we did not want to compromise on durability testing – but we launched in April 2022 and the product has performed well.”

“Before we launch a vehicle in SA, we do about 83,000km of testing, so by the time it is launched, it is properly geared towards SA conditions.”

We asked where IMSA could improve its service to customers. The CEO said he encourages an entrepreneurial sense among dealers, imploring them to treat customers' issues as if they were their own. In addition, greater investment in digitisation of the shopping process is on the agenda. Tom also believes in a partnership-type approach, instead of a sterner, prescriptive view involving engagements with IMSA dealers.

“If we see ourselves as equals, it becomes a better relationship.” He claims that more than R1bn has been spent on investment in dealership facilities across the country.

According to Tom, one dealer spent $6m (about R106m) on an Isuzu dealership in Zimbabwe, which showed a vote of confidence in the network. On the new products side, we asked Tom if Isuzu would ever consider playing in the sub-one-tonne market, with a product in a similar vein to Chevrolet's Utility or the Nissan NP200 – both discontinued.

Though he said that globally, volumes in that category were not big enough to make a strong business case for IMSA, he did not want to outright dismiss the prospect.

“Things change, you always look at opportunity, but for the time being we have a successful dual strategy involving the latest generation D-Max and Gen 6.”

The Gen 6 is the previous version of the D-Max, produced alongside the new vehicle. SA was the first market to run two generations concurrently.

On the road to CEO, Tom said there were many lessons learnt. More recently, in the dysfunction of the pandemic, he was reminded of the value of putting trust in the abilities of others.

“Working remotely during Covid-19 you could not see what people were doing – but tasks were getting done.”

He also believes that surrounding yourself with the right people, those who are courageous enough to say the things you might not want to hear, is crucial to self-development.

Lastly, Tom is a firm believer in investing in family. So where to next? Instead of eyeing other brands, Tom states he is firmly at home with IMSA.

“To me, Isuzu is my calling – when I got my truck licence, it was in an Isuzu truck, when I started working, my first three vehicles were Isuzu, I’ve been so invested in the brand.

“When Isuzu Japan talks about Africa, they must know IMSA is the hub for the continent and my ambition is to create an African brand.”