At the age of only 63, Johan van Zyl, the former head of the European representation of the Japanese carmaker Toyota, died on Friday, July 30. The carmaker itself stated this on its website. According to Automotive News Europe, complications associated with covid-19 were the cause.
Johan van Zyl led the European Toyota from 2015 to April this year, when he resigned and left his position to sales and marketing director Matthew Harrison. Under the native South African van Zyle, the European Toyota celebrated success – in 2019 it sold more than a million cars for the first time in ten years, last year it achieved a 6% market share. It also became the sole owner of the plant in Cologne, Czech Republic, when it acquired the original stake of the French concern PSA.
The model palette then underwent a significant transformation. It was van Zyl who announced in 2018 that Toyota would no longer offer diesel engines in its classic passenger cars, which would remain reserved for the off-road Land Cruiser and utility models. On the contrary, it expanded its range of hybrid types, enabling it to meet CO2 emission limits in an exemplary manner. In the first half of this year, Toyota and Lexus sold 326,420 units in Europe, which means a share of almost 60%.
It also succeeded in obtaining permission to produce the original C-HR crossover, which was launched in 2016 and is now a major and fourth-selling Toyota model in Europe. Moreover, with more than ninety percent of hybrids today.
After finishing his career in Europe, van Zyl returned to his native South Africa, where he retained the position of head of the local branch of the Japanese carmaker. In an interview with the local media he admittedthat at the age of 63 he will have even more time for his car collection.
“We have lost a beloved and admired leader and an amazing personality that we will remember because of her humor, peace and empathy,” he wrote in a press release car manufacturer.
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