Toyota South Africa (TSAM) said it’s expecting stock challenges for its locally-built models in the coming months due to severe flooding that ravaged parts of KwaZulu-Natal in April.
This comes after the country’s best-selling automaker recorded total sales of under 10,000 units per month for the first time in 2022.
“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,” said TSAM senior vice president of sales and marketing Leon Theron.
“We are anticipating stock challenges with regards to our locally-built models such as Hilux, Fortuner, Corolla Cross and Quest, Hiace Ses’fikile, and some Hino models.”
Theron assured customers that “every single one of your orders is receiving the attention it deserves.”
Best-selling Toyota vehicles in April
Despite the temporary closure of Toyota’s Prospectron plant, it comfortably held first place as South Africa’s best-selling automotive brand and recorded a 24.1% market share in April.
Moving a total of 8,952 vehicles during the month, Toyota sits 3,868-units above VW in second place and an astounding 5,256-units above Suzuki in third.
Standout models for the brand included:
- Hilux – 2,778 units
- Corolla Cross – 1,421 units
- Hiace – 1,084 units
- Fortuner – 618 units
- Urban Cruiser – 613 units
- Starlet – 510 units
Sales for the Hilux – being both Toyota and South Africa’s best-selling vehicle – were split up between 1,463 Double Cabs, 356 Xtra Cabs, and 969 Single Cabs.
The Hilux falls into the Light Commercial Vehicle segment and along with the help of the Hiace and the Land Cruiser bakkie – which achieved 205 sales – Toyota took home 44.5% market share in the segment in April.
Additionally, Toyota produces Lexus and Hino vehicles which are sold locally, with these brands performing well in April, too.
The ES with 17 units and RX with 12 units were Lexus’ best-selling vehicles last month, whereas Hino also sold a total of 214 models.
“For the month of April 2022, the parts warehouse supplied just over 1.6 million part pieces, with an additional 300,000-plus pieces going to the export market,” said TSAM.
Keyword: Tough times ahead for Toyota in South Africa