PIVOT POINT – Billy Tom: Steering South Africa’s Automotive Industry Through Transformation.
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The automotive industry is at a crossroads navigating the shift from internal combustion engines to new energy vehicles, balancing global uncertainty with local realities like load shedding, and rethinking how manufacturing, localisation and leadership must evolve. In this episode of Pivot Point, we sit down with Billy Tom, Chair of NAAMSA, Chair of the Automotive Transformation Investment Fund and CEO of Isuzu Motors South Africa, to unpack what visionary leadership looks like in a time of profound disruption.
As the first Black President of NAAMSA, Tom reflects on steering the industry through some of its toughest years from power instability and port inefficiencies to supply chain shocks and rising costs while keeping South Africa competitive on the global stage. He shares why collaboration between government and industry is critical, how localisation and aftersales resilience can future-proof manufacturers, and why the transition to electric and alternative energy vehicles must be inclusive, pragmatic and customer-led.
As the first Black President of NAAMSA, Tom reflects on steering the industry through some of its toughest years from power instability and port inefficiencies to supply chain shocks and rising costs while keeping South Africa competitive on the global stage. He shares why collaboration between government and industry is critical, how localisation and aftersales resilience can future-proof manufacturers, and why the transition to electric and alternative energy vehicles must be inclusive, pragmatic and customer-led.
