Source: Motorpress /Toyota South Africa
TOYOTA POSTS 26% MARKET SHARE IN MARCH
It is unfortunately a forgone conclusion that overall industry sales would continue its downward trajectory given the current Coronavirus situation which, of course, is now exacerbated by the national lockdown which kicked in from the 26th March and will most certainly also impact April sales.
Toyota registered the highest market share in the following three segments:
That said Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) still managed a very credible retail total of 8 715 units for the month of March, with a 26% market share. The split was as follows: 4 209 were passenger vehicles, 4 204 were LCV, 207 were MCV, with HCV and Extra Heavy Commercial Vehicles segments recording 71 and 24 units respectively.
Notable performances in the passenger segment included Fortuner (1168), Corolla Quest (862) and RAV (467).
On the LCV front, South African favourites and all-time segment leaders – Hilux as well as Hiace – recorded class-leading sales of 2729 and 1120 units apiece.
At 33 545, domestic sales for March have contracted by a substantial 29.7% compared to the same month last year when a total of 47 695 vehicles were sold. The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) says out of the total domestic sales for March, an estimated 28 042 units or 83.6% represented dealer sales, an estimated 6.2% represented sales to the vehicle rental industry, 5.8% to government and 4.4% to industry corporate fleets.
According to Leon Theron, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at TSAM: “The local automotive sector in reality only lost four days of retail in March, but was far more severely impacted by the overall negative economic sentiment that’s prevalent globally due to the absolute mayhem caused by COVID-19. This is clearly reflected in the overall sales figures but even so, we are extremely grateful to our dealer network, as well as our loyal customers, for the 26% market share achieved in such challenging times.
“With April traditionally being a low-volume month due to public holidays, we cannot deny that the current national lockdown is going to make things worse. However, we would like to emphasise that we support all measures and temporary policies announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa and his team during the implementation of the country’s 21-day lockdown.”
Theron added that while the industry welcomed a number of debt relief measures to lessen the burden on consumers, the effect is yet to be realised. “The substantial fuel decrease we have may come as little relief right now with South Africans still under lockdown, and we also welcome the interest rate cuts as well as other debt relief measures introduced by local banks. We are also proud to announce that our sister company, Toyota Financial Services, has devised payment-relief plans to assist customers and partners who have been impacted by COVID -19.”
TSAM STATEMENT ON COVID-19
On behalf of the entire team at Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM), our thoughts are with everyone impacted by the novel coronavirus/COVID-19. TSAM is closely following the Department of Health’s guidelines and recommendations on the steps that can be taken to mitigate transmission of the virus.
As an organisation that is first and foremost a corporate citizen, TSAM continues to prioritise the health and safety of its customers, employees and business partners. TSAM is constantly monitoring the spread of the COVID-19 in South Africa in order to be able to react commensurately to the changing situation at any time.
In line with the latest government guidance, all Toyota, Lexus and Hino dealerships are currently closed – however, plans are in place to support logistics and mobility of essential services should vehicles break down (AA process for afterhours and all dealers set up to facilitate this service).
Notable performances in the passenger segment included Fortuner (1168), Corolla Quest (862) and RAV (467).
On the LCV front, South African favourites and all-time segment leaders – Hilux as well as Hiace – recorded class-leading sales of 2729 and 1120 units apiece.
At 33 545, domestic sales for March have contracted by a substantial 29.7% compared to the same month last year when a total of 47 695 vehicles were sold. The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) says out of the total domestic sales for March, an estimated 28 042 units or 83.6% represented dealer sales, an estimated 6.2% represented sales to the vehicle rental industry, 5.8% to government and 4.4% to industry corporate fleets.
According to Leon Theron, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at TSAM: “The local automotive sector in reality only lost four days of retail in March, but was far more severely impacted by the overall negative economic sentiment that’s prevalent globally due to the absolute mayhem caused by COVID-19. This is clearly reflected in the overall sales figures but even so, we are extremely grateful to our dealer network, as well as our loyal customers, for the 26% market share achieved in such challenging times.
“With April traditionally being a low-volume month due to public holidays, we cannot deny that the current national lockdown is going to make things worse. However, we would like to emphasise that we support all measures and temporary policies announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa and his team during the implementation of the country’s 21-day lockdown.”
Theron added that while the industry welcomed a number of debt relief measures to lessen the burden on consumers, the effect is yet to be realised. “The substantial fuel decrease we have may come as little relief right now with South Africans still under lockdown, and we also welcome the interest rate cuts as well as other debt relief measures introduced by local banks. We are also proud to announce that our sister company, Toyota Financial Services, has devised payment-relief plans to assist customers and partners who have been impacted by COVID -19.”
TSAM STATEMENT ON COVID-19
On behalf of the entire team at Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM), our thoughts are with everyone impacted by the novel coronavirus/COVID-19. TSAM is closely following the Department of Health’s guidelines and recommendations on the steps that can be taken to mitigate transmission of the virus.
As an organisation that is first and foremost a corporate citizen, TSAM continues to prioritise the health and safety of its customers, employees and business partners. TSAM is constantly monitoring the spread of the COVID-19 in South Africa in order to be able to react commensurately to the changing situation at any time.
In line with the latest government guidance, all Toyota, Lexus and Hino dealerships are currently closed – however, plans are in place to support logistics and mobility of essential services should vehicles break down (AA process for afterhours and all dealers set up to facilitate this service).
Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV): 41%
Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCV): 21%