Toyota celebrated the start of production with a solid month in August.
Production resumed early in the month after a major reconstruction of the Prospecton factory, following the devastation of the floods in KwaZulu-Natal in mid-April. This factory manufactures the Hilux, Fortuner, Corolla Cross, Corolla Quest, Ses’fikile and Hiace as well as a number of Hino trucks for the local and export markets.
For August, Toyota posted a total of 11 138 units. The company’s latest sales are 4 028 units up compared to July.
“The resilience of the Toyota brand in South Africa was put to the test when production ceased for a few months following the devastating floods that caused damage to our plant in Durban. However, we still have an extensive backlog of orders that we have to clear, and we continue to ask for patience on the part of our customers. There is indeed light at the end of the tunnel,” says Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at TSAM, Leon Theron.
While TSAM did not lose its sales leadership position when its plant closed for repairs, it is the first time since April that SA’s favourite vehicle is once again topping the sales charts. A total of 3 417 Hilux models found new homes in August; while 1 129 Corolla Cross; 1 008 Hiace Ses’fikile and 667 Fortuner units were sold.
Reflecting on industry sales for the month of August, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (naamsa) says: “The new vehicle market’s performance remained remarkably buoyant despite the increasingly challenging economic conditions. Aggregate domestic new vehicles sales at 47 420 units reflected an increase of 5 887 units or 14.2% from 41 533 vehicles sold in August 2021.”
Other notable performers in the Toyota stable include the Urban Cruiser (1 905), Starlet (774) and Agya (377), while the brand’s luxury arm, Lexus, posted a total of 64 units. TSAM is also proud that it supplied no fewer than 1.4 million part pieces to its domestic dealer network, while a further 290 000 pieces were shipped abroad.
Mitsubishi Motors has revived the Pajero name with the launch of the fifth generation Pajero Cross Country. The new model does not simply replace the previous Pajero that disappeared from the market in 2021. Its relationship with the Pajero Sport is equally important, particularly for markets such as South Africa.
Range Rover, long regarded as the original luxury SUV, has introduced its first electric model. The vehicle is built at the Solihull plant in the UK, where Range Rover production has taken place since 1970.
Audi South Africa has introduced the new Q5 range, comprising the third-generation Q5 SUV, second-generation Q5 Sportback, and the performance-focused SQ5 SUV and SQ5 Sportback. The range is built on Audi's Premium Platform Combustion and brings a new generation of petrol and diesel engines to the nameplate.
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