Toyota records 10 000 sales despite Durban flood disaster
With a market share of 24.1% and 2 788 Hilux sales in April, Toyota is set on beating the odds.
The Toyota Corolla Cross sold 1 421 units and the Hiace registered 1 084 units sold.
In the light commercial vehicle segment, the Hilux once again proved the top performer, while the Corolla Cross made a strong showing in the passenger segment.
Other top performers in the passenger category included the Urban Cruiser (613), Fortuner (618) and Starlet (510).
Lexus sold 51 units and Hino trucks sold 214 units in April.
In the same month, the parts warehouse supplied just over 1.6m parts, with an additional 300 000-plus pieces going to the export market.
The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa said, “Despite the trail of destruction in parts of KwaZulu-Natal following the large-scale flooding disaster causing supply chain disruptions in port, rail and road traffic as well as the temporary closure of Toyota South Africa Motors, the new vehicle market continued its road to recovery during the month of April. Sales in the volume passenger car segment performed well, assisted by ongoing strong purchases by the vehicle rental companies, but the other segments of the market performed weaker.”
Toyota South Africa Motors’ (TSAM) senior vice president of sales and marketing, Leon Theron, said, “April is traditionally a slow month for retail due to the numerous public holidays, but the situation was compounded by the flooding at our plant in Prospecton, Durban. We are anticipating stock challenges with regards to our locally built models such as the Hilux, Fortuner, Corolla Cross and Quest, Hiace Ses’fikile and some Hino models.”
Theron added that TSAM is grateful to the entire Toyota team and dealers across the country for their continued efforts over the past few weeks. “A big thank you to our customers for being patient with us. Please be assured that every single one of your orders is receiving the attention it deserves. We are a tough organisation, operating in a resilient nation – we will come back stronger.”
Source: MotorPress
