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• Toyota registered 10 797 new vehicles in South Africa last month.
• The sales figure means Toyota's sales accounted for a 24.2% market share.
• The Hilux and Hi-Ace were the automaker's top sellers.
• For more motoring stories, go to Wheels24
March 2021 has been good for Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) after the automaker registered 10 797 new vehicles in the month. The total is more than 2000 more than the number recorded in March 2020 - when Covid-19 gained momentum in South Africa. The total also accounted for a 24.2% market share out of 44 217 units sold last month.
The split for Toyota was as follows: 5783 were Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV), 4726 were passenger vehicles, 155 were MCV, with HCV and Extra Heavy Commercial Vehicles segments recording 98 and 35 units, respectively.
According to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA): "Aggregate domestic sales in March 2021, at 44 217 units, reflected a substantial increase of 10 671 units, or 31,8%, from the 33 546 vehicles sold in March last year. Export sales also recorded a huge increase in March 2021, and at 40 026 units reflected a gain of 11 137 units, or 38,6%, compared to the 28 889 vehicles exported in March 2020."
King of the hill
South African favourites and all-time segment leaders - the Hilux and Hiace - recorded class-leading sales of 3941 and 1348 units apiece in the LCV segment. Notable performances in the passenger segment included debutant Urban Cruiser with close to 1000 units (977), Fortuner (966), Starlet (721), Corolla Quest (582), and Agya (531).
TSAM's truck division Hino sold a total of 262 vehicles. The Hino 300-Series had a strong sales month with 129 units (19% share of the MCV segment), while the Hino 500-Series recorded 98 new truck sales (19% share of the HCV segment). Toyota's niche luxury brand Lexus had an admirable run with NX (14), ES (11), LX (9), and UX (9).
According to Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at TSAM, Leon Theron: "We are grateful to our dealers, customers and the entire Toyota workforce for positive and encouraging results from last month. However, we remain cautiously optimistic as to what April may offer the industry, as it a holiday month. As TSAM, we continue trusting in our diverse product line-up as well as the incredibly strong dealer network that has always been the cornerstone of our business."
