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11 138. That's how many vehicles Toyota South Africa sold in August; clearly, the country's most popular automaker is back in business.
Earlier in August, the local carmaker announced they had resumed operations at its Prospecton plant in Durban after the factory had to be shut down due to substantial damage caused by severe floods in April 2022. During the four months that the plant was shut, sales numbers had dropped significantly, especially with the locally-produced Corolla Cross, Hilux, Quest and Quantum minivan.
WATCH | Toyota SA reopens factory plant: Locally-built Hilux, Corolla Cross back in production
Hilux numbers dropped as low as just over 900 sales in July, the lowest it has been in an incredibly long time. At the same time, the Corolla Cross moved only over 100 units during the last few months, according to the National Automobile Association of Manufacturers in Southern Africa (Naamsa) monthly report. But, the tides have turned; the automaker sold a whopping 3 417 bakkies in August, and 1 129 models of its popular new compact SUV, the Corolla Cross. Toyota sold 5 044 light commercial vehicles and 5 753 passenger vehicles to make up their 23% market share last month.
Toyota SA's latest sales figures are 4 028 units up compared to July, albeit the plant is still in the ramp-up phase and not at total production capacity.
'The resilience of the Toyota brand'
Leon Theron, Toyota SA's senior vice-president of Sales and Marketing, says: "The resilience of the Toyota brand in South Africa was tested when production ceased for a few months following the devastating floods that caused damage to our plant in Durban. We are genuinely pleased to have models such as Hilux, HiAce, Fortuner, Corolla Cross and Quest rolling off the production line.
"However, we still have an extensive backlog of orders that we have to clear, and we continue to ask for patience on the part of our customers. There is indeed light at the end of the tunnel," he says.
The Hilux's sales numbers are not surprising as its return to form has been expected once the production line started moving once more. However, it's also interesting to see other brands doing well too. Isuzu particularly had a good month as the automaker sold 1 789 bakkies last month, just two units short of the 1 791 Ranger vehicles Ford sold.
REVIEW | Isuzu's new D-Max bakkie is the most good-looking one they've ever built
Nissan's best seller
Next in line is the Nissan NP200, albeit a single cab half-tonner with 1 397 models sold. The automaker's stunning Navara also fared better than in previous months, with 661 units finding new homes. Toyota also sold 401 units of its Land Cruiser pickup truck.
Mahindra sold 896 units of its Scorpio Pik-Up and 37 Bolero vehicles. Haval moved 138 P-Series bakkies, and 440 GWM Steeds. Volkswagen sold 128 Amarok bakkies last month, while JAC Motors sold 72 and 61 units of its T-Series and X-Series vehicles, respectively. Mitsubishi sold 68 Triton bakkies - still a vastly underrated value-for-money offering in SA.
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Peugeot sold 36 Landtrek models while Jeep sold another 13 Gladiator bakkies - while this number seems insignificant, it's important to note this vehicle sells for R1.3 million. It's also interesting to note that Mercedes-Benz listed 12 units in their Naamsa report under the Light Commercial Vehicle segment, which can only be X-Class stock still being sold. Mazda rounds off the bakkie sales list with four BT-50 models.
