2022 has been a great year for Toyota, the first quarter of the year showing exceptional local sales for the Japanese manufacturer. In fact, March saw a total of 15 008 units being sold across Toyota, Hino and Lexus brands locally, the highest ever sales recorded in South Africa.
Of the 15 008 units sold, a remarkable 10 198 were Light Commercial vehicles which were either built or assembled locally at the Prospecton Plant in Durban.
A consistent increase in the monthly number of vehicles sold by Toyota over the past three months has resulted in the manufacturer enjoying an average market share of 30% locally. As is to be expected, the venerable Hilux was a top performer with total sales of 4 561, the Corolla Cross representing 2 384 sales in the Passenger segment.
“Looking at the March sales makes me realise how special the Toyota machinery is. We are truly humbled by the performance of our dealers, sales teams, our manufacturing division in Durban, and the other Toyota, Hino, and Lexus ambassadors for the stellar job they are doing,” said Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at TSAM, Leon Theron.
Locally produced segment leaders which account for nearly 70% of the vehicles sold are the Hilux, Corolla Cross, Hiace Ses’fikile and Fortuner. In addition, March saw just over 1,5 million parts’ pieces supplied to domestic dealers, while a further 279,000 pieces were shipped to foreign markets.
In conclusion, Theron notes, “We are grateful to the Toyota dealer network across the country for their continued effort towards making Toyota a market leader – the 12,533 units sold through their channel is testament to their hard work. Our mandate is to offer customers good value for money and continue making Toyota, Lexus, and Hino, brands of choice for our market – we are well on course towards reaching that goal.”
