Toyota South Africa Motors retained its market leadership position during June with 9,712 Toyota vehicles finding a new home – this translates to 19.3% market share in a market that has declined by close to 5%. The brand also retained its market share of the overall Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) segment at 27.5%.
|
Market segment |
June 2014 |
June 2015 |
% change |
|
Passenger vehicles |
35,367 |
33,035 |
-6.6% |
|
Light commercial vehicles |
14,533 |
14,751 |
1.5% |
|
Medium commercial vehicles |
907 |
804 |
-11.4% |
|
Heavy commercial vehicles |
456 |
459 |
0.6% |
|
Extra Heavy commercial vehicles |
1,408 |
1,122 |
-20.3% |
|
Bus |
114 |
75 |
-34.2% |
|
Vehicle exports |
23,492 |
31,422 |
33.8% |
|
Overall market (local) |
52,784 |
50,251 |
-4.8% |
“We are very happy with the increase in our market share percentage compared to last month, making June the sixth consecutive month of market leadership in 2015,” says Glenn Crompton, Vice President for Marketing at Toyota South Africa. “What is even more satisfying is the fact that more than 90% of our sales came through the Dealer Channel which is indicative of a solid commitment from our Dealer Network and great loyalty from our customers.”
For the third consecutive month the overall the market showed a slight decline of 4.8% if compared to the same period last year, with the passenger segment showing a decline of 6.6%. “The decline in the passenger segment with the second-hand market showing an increase, underlines consumers’ cautious behaviour in the light of economic uncertainty in the country,” says Crompton, citing uncertainty around fuel prices, weak exchange rate and increasing utility prices as risk factors for consumers.
Toyota’s top performers included its ever-green Toyota Hilux (2,912 units), Fortuner (1,353 units) and Corolla Quest (1,004 units). “We are particularly proud of the Fortuner’s performance, dominating the SUV segment of the market,” says Crompton.
On the Trucks front, Hino South Africa achieved a solid 321 units sold, in a sector of the market showing continuous decline. The investment-led medium and heavy commercial segments are showing a constant month-on-month decline which can be mainly attributed to the reduction in purchase due to replacement cycles which usually works on a 5-year basis, coupled with a general decline in business confidence.
