With 10,812 units retailed in July, Toyota was once again South Africa’s best-selling brand powered by a strong demand across its line-up. As the only manufacturer to breach 10,000 units per month (and accomplish this six months out of seven for 2023), Toyota’s market share for July was a commanding 24,9%.
Hilux realised 2,982 sales in July, contributing to its dominance in the LCV space – YTD racking up cumulative sales numbers close to 22,000 units for a 25,2% segment market share. An improved inventory flow for this model also helped Toyota’s exports for the month, with Hilux accounting for 7,273 of the 7,437 units shipped out in July. Other LCV highlights include the Hiace which ticked over with sales of 1,347 units and the Land Cruiser 79 pickup, a consistent performer with a solid 312 registrations.
Mirroring its LCV performance, Toyota also leads in passenger car sales with three of its models featuring in the top ten. It was another podium finish for Corolla Cross with 1,801 units retailed, followed by Starlet on 1,187 units, while Fortuner snuck into ninth place with 730 sales registered. Year-to-date, Corolla Cross is SA’s most popular passenger vehicle with nearly 12,500 units finding new owners – this single model reflecting a 6,1% share of the total passenger market.
Other notables for Toyota in the passenger arena include Quest (455) and Land Cruiser 300 – the latter garnering 214 sales, a remarkable achievement considering most of the sales come from the ZX and GR-S models which retail for more than R2 million.
On the Lexus front, NX is the sales frontrunner with 28 units retailed, while the rarefied LX attained a laudable 13 sales.
Worthy of mention are the bespoke GR models, which are beginning to make a blip on the niche sports radar: the freshly launched GR Corolla notched up seven sales, followed by the GR Supra (available for the first time with a six-speed manual option) on six units, with the GR 86 and Yaris registering four and three units respectively.
Parts supply for the month came in at close to 1,4 million pieces distributed locally and a further 246,000 pieces exported to foreign markets.
Toyota South Africa Motors Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing, Leon Theron, is cautiously optimistic about vehicle sales: “The envisaged interest rate hike fortunately did not materialise in July, and this offered the battered South African consumer a little ray of hope in this gloomy economic environment. I am nevertheless still humbled by Toyota’s consistently good performance and see it as a testament to the quality of our products and service which emanates from a dedication to excellence that is engrained in every single staff member associated with this great brand. I am immeasurably proud to be a part of such a successful yet grounded company.”
Content and images supplied via MotorPress