Despite a sombre economic outlook, Toyota has once again shot to the head of the leader board as South Africa’s best-selling car brand with an industry-leading 8 743 deliveries for the month of February; 1 148 units ahead of the number two brand.
Brian Joss – This month was also noteworthy for the launch of the highly anticipated, all-new Hilux on February 22. Despite the fact that this model was on the market for one week only (and with the outgoing model in very slim supply due to run-out), it nevertheless garnered sales in excess of 1 000 units. Even more remarkable is that this was on the back of one body variant only – the double cab – as the other configurations only become available over the next few weeks. What this means from a total retail perspective is that Hilux (current and previous generation) generated 2 260 sales for the month, placing it in overall second place on the best-sellers list.
Glenn Crompton, Vice President of Marketing for Toyota SA Motors is upbeat about the new Hilux: “Our dealers have experienced an unprecedented demand for the new Hilux as buyers continue to respond to the way the newcomer offers improved value while inspiring go-anywhere confidence and delivering a compliant ride and advanced features. It’s been a remarkable and, dare I say, a fitting introduction to Hilux which is nothing short of a South African icon. And, once it’s joined by its SUV stablemate, Fortuner, in April, the competition will get even more fierce. ”
Other strong contributions for Toyota in February included RAV4 (a segment-beating 498 sales), Etios (1313), Quantum (1291) and Land Cruiser pick-up (366). Prado and Land Cruiser 200 are also registering their presence on the premium sales chart – 165 and 70 units respectively finding new homes during the past month.
