TOYOTA RECORDS HIGHEST MONTHLY SALES IN OCTOBER

TOYOTA TOTAL SALES – 13 694

Passenger VEHICLES SALES – 6 727

LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLES – 6 640

TOYOTA Market Share – 26.3%

Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) recorded its highest sales month with a total of 13 694 vehicles sold in October – effectively claiming a 26.3% market share. The industry total of 51 978 also marked the first time that local sales went past the 50 000-mark this year.

According to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa), out of the total industry sales of 51 978 vehicles, an estimated 38 558 units or 74.2% represented dealer sales, 20.3% vehicle rental industry, 3.7% corporate fleets and 1.8% government sales. NAAMSA confirmed that aggregate domestic new sales reflected a marginal increase of 122 units or 0.2% from the 51 856 vehicles sold in October last year.

Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at TSAM, Calvyn Hamman says: “Despite market detractors, such as shrinking disposable income as well as volatile trading conditions, the local automotive industry has shown tremendous resilience against the backdrop of an ailing economy. We understand that these are trying times for the consumer, yet we value the continued support from the local market. We are also grateful to the rental, corporate and government sales for the huge role they play in supporting the industry.”

In the TSAM stable, it was once again the evergreen Hilux that led the sales charts with a laudable total of 4 377 – recording its second best aggregate since the record-breaking 4 770 units sold in June. South Africa’s most popular people-mover Hiace sold no less than 1 738 units, thereby contributing to the total of 6 640 models sold by Toyota in the LCV category – or a 49.7% market share for TSAM.

TSAM’s sales in the passenger segment totalled a respectable 6 727 units – mostly attributable to notable performances by Corolla Quest (1 313), Yaris (1 065), Fortuner (1 018), Etios (957). Avanza (610) and RAV4 (558). On the truck front, the Hino 500-Series recorded a 21.5% market share in the Heavy Commercial Vehicle (HCV) segment while the 300-Series posted a 15.4% share in the Medium Commercial Vehicle (MCV) category.

“We are grateful to the entire TSAM team and dealers across the country for their continued efforts towards making Toyota a market leader, but we cannot be complacent because there is always room for improvement. Our mandate is to create customer smiles and to continue making Toyota, Lexus and Hino brands of choice for our market,” concluded Hamman.