Toyota tops LCV charts in January

Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) registered a total of 3 927 sales in the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment – claiming a stake of 40,1 percent in the category – for the tough month of January

The Hilux kicked off the year as the best-selling bakkie with a total of 2 681 models, while the legendary Land Cruiser pick-up posted a formidable 230 units. Both the Hiace and Quantum recorded respectable sales – 777 and 137 units, respectively.

On the truck front, the Hino 300 Series played a pivotal role in the organisation’s 25,2-percent market share of medium commercial vehicles, while the Hino 500 Series found the going tough in the heavy commercial vehicle segment, with a total of 36 units.

Overall industry sales are subdued as a result of the country’s economic woes.  Aggregate automotive sales of 39 475 units in January showed a decline of 3 481 units (or 8,1 percent) from the 42 956 vehicles sold in January last year, according to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa).

The Association also confirmed that, out of the January sales total, an estimated 81,2 percent (or 32 050 units) were courtesy of dealer sales, 13,5 percent represented sales to the vehicle rental industry, 3,1 percent to industry corporate fleets and 2,2 percent to government.

“The economic pressure remains and consumers have continued to be debt-averse,” says Leon Theron, senior vice president of sales and marketing at TSAM.

“While Toyota has kicked off the year with a cautious market share of 20,9 percent, we are thankful to our customers, fleet owners and rental companies for their continued support in these trying economic times. We are also grateful to our dealer network, as well as all Toyota staff, for their sterling efforts in making Toyota such a competitive brand,” he adds.