Toyota Kenya is Now CFAO Motors, Here’s Why

Toyota Kenya Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota based in Nairobi, is changing its name in a bid to enable enhanced distribution of diverse brands.

It has officially rebranded to Corporation for Africa and Overseas (CFAO) Motors Limited Kenya. The company will, however, retain the Toyota brand for its trading name.

It is the importer and distributor of Toyota, Yamaha, Hino and Suzuki motorbikes and vehicles in Kenya. Toyota Kenya Ltd was incorporated in 1997 as a subsidiary by Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC), the trading arm of Toyota Motor Corporation.

CFAO will be the exclusive dealer of Toyota vehicles and genuine parts in Kenya in addition to exclusively offering the manufacturer’s warranty. It will also distribute Yamaha bikes, Hino trucks and Suzuki vehicles in the country.

TTC in 2016 completed acquisition of 100% stake in CFAO, a French multinational dealing with mobility, consumers goods, energy and technology. TTC has since 2017 been integrating all African operations under CFAO, including Toyota Kenya.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, March 15, the company’s Managing Director Arvinder Reel explained the decision to rebrand while assuring customers that operations would not be affected by the move.

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“Our core business is Toyota, we are the exclusive distributor, by retaining the Toyota business means that we shall then deal with TTC and we will be the exclusive distributor of Toyota vehicles, nothing changes as far as our offerings are concerned, its purely a rebranding and we will have four brands under our wings.”

“The rebrand and name change by Toyota Kenya Limited was approved through a special resolution by shareholders and authorization by the Board of Directors. Overall, this change allows us to enhance our value chain in the automotive sector over and above Toyota brand, which remains the core of our business,” he stated.

Reel noted that the rebrand put them in a better position to target different market segments.

“When we took in other brands under Toyota, it was difficult to communicate [Suzuki – by Toyota], there was a miscommunication when we dealt with other brands,” he observed.

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