Toyota South Africa Motors says October saw the firm record its highest passenger sales total of 2020 thus far, with the new Starlet managing 1 102 units.
The Starlet cracked four figures in its first full month on sale, according to Naamsa’s figures. As a reminder, the hatchback is effectively a rebadged Suzuki Baleno (for the record, the Baleno managed just 51 units in October).
The Japanese company’s local arm registered 5 755 passenger vehicle units (from a total of 8 859 units across all segments) in October 2020, besting its effort of 4 610 in February.
The Fortuner (1 349), Corolla Quest (850) and outgoing Etios (826) also starred, while the RAV4 (452), Avanza (283) and Rush (156) provided useful contributions, too.
“The recent launch of the Starlet is part of [our] strategy to bolster our sales in the passenger car segment. We hope that the Starlet will be an appealing offering to young people and rental companies alike – due to its competitive pricing as well as its visually enticing aesthetics,” said Leon Theron, senior vice-president of sales and marketing at Toyota SA Motors.
“It is no secret that the new vehicle market is going to remain low for the remainder of the year due to the impact of COVID-19, but that does not stop us from celebrating pockets of success whenever we can.”
Toyota said its light commercial vehicle sales were “hampered by unforeseeable delays in the local production cycle of the Hilux”.
