Hilux drives Toyota’s conquest of local market over 40 years
In southern Africa, Toyota marked the turn of the decade by celebrating 40 years of market leadership. Despite the slump in new vehicle sales, Toyota has consistently ranked as the best performer with the ubiquitous Hilux bakkie contributing in no small measure to this achievement.
Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Leon Theron said: “We owe our 40 years of sales success to our loyal customers, our hard-working dealers as well as our ability to read the changing market needs. This is evidenced in the success enjoyed by the Corolla, which would eventually become the best-selling passenger car of all times, while the Hiace is – without a doubt – the people mover of choice. Shifts in local vehicle trends have also catapulted the Hilux from being just a workhorse to becoming the popular lifestyle vehicle, thanks largely to the prolific double-cab variants.”
In addition to celebrating four decades of market leadership, Toyota said it is also pleased to have ended 2019 with a 24.2% overall market share. In South Africa, Toyota recorded a total of 130,072 units in 2019, comprising 63,700 passenger and 62,724 light commercial vehicles. It was once again the Hilux that topped model sales with a total of 40,934 units for the year and 3080 units for December.
Commenting on overall 2019 industry sales, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) noted that new vehicle sales had declined by 15,601 units, or 2.8%, from 552,227 units in 2018 to 536,626 units in 2019.
“Our mandate is to make customers smile and to continue making Toyota, Lexus and Hino brands of choice for our market,” concluded Theron.
