Hilux propels Toyota to Top Spot in Vehicle sales in March

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• Toyota leads vehicle sales in March


• Hilux is SA’;s best-seller

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Market segment	March 2014	March 2015	% change
Passenger vehicles	36,644	35,548	-3%
Light commercial vehicles	15,933	16,808	5.5%
Medium commercial vehicles	1,015	1,104	8.8%
Heavy commercial vehicles	485	578	19%
Extra Heavy commercial vehicles	1,261	1,306	3.5%
Bus	102	105	2.9%
Vehicle exports	24,659	34,147	38.5%
Overall market (local)	55,440	55,449	0%

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Toyota once again posted the best sales performance in March, garnering a dominant 20% market share, to further entrench its leading position in the SA automotive sales race.

The long-term market leader delivered 11,047 new vehicles during March, driven by a healthy demand for Hilux which once again took top honours as SA’;s best-seller with a total of 3,625 units sold for the month (31% of the 1-ton bakkie segment); 518 units ahead of its  closest rival. Other top performers from the brand include the Corolla/Quest combination, holding the C-segment lead at 37% with 1,745 units sold; while the Fortuner secured its Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) segment leader position with close to 900 units finding a home during March.

On the Truck front, Hino South Africa celebrated a record sales month with 523 Hino and Dyna trucks being sold – this translates into 16,9% share in the overall truck market and an exceptional performance in the Medium Commercial Vehicle (MCV) segment where the brand boasts a  30% market share.

“Our performance up till now proves that Toyota has an even firmer grip on its long-term position as the best-selling automotive brand in the country,” says Calvyn Hamman, Toyota South Africa’;s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “More impressive is the fact that this has been achieved in the face of increased competition, much of which has been directly targeted at Toyota.

“While the increase in the investment-led medium and heavy truck segments which posted gains of 8.8% and 7.6% respectively shows a confidence in the country, the decline in passenger segment shows a level of caution with the wider car-buying public – this can be attributed to uncertainty around fuel prices, interest rate increases and vehicle price increase,” says Hamman, adding that Toyota remain cautiously optimistic about the 630,000 sales forecast for 2015

On the vehicle financing front, March 2015 saw new Toyota finance applications increase by 6% over the 6-month rolling average and 16% month-on-month; while new finance application year to date are up by 8% year-on-year and show and increase of 10% if compared to March 2015.04.02

“Toyota dealer generated finance applications for passenger, LCV and used cars processed by Toyota Financial Services increased 13% month-on-month,” says Marius Burger, CEO of TFS.

Hilux propels Toyota to Top Spot in Vehicle sales in March

Is Bristol the Worst Spot to Drive in the UK?

There are certain roads in the UK that most drivers avoid at all costs, most notably the M25 during rush hour! However, a recent survey conducted by the Alliance of British Drivers has revealed that Bristol is officially motorists’ most hated place to drive in the whole of the UK. The survey revealed that drivers are angered over the amount of traffic lights and bus lanes in the city which are causing a considerable amount of congestion.

Discussing the survey, Hugh Bladon from the Alliance said: “We were prompted to run this competition because of all the complaints we were receiving about the way in which councils treat motorists. The fact is that motorists are able to use the roads less and less. The kerbs are being built out which causes restrictions and we’;ve got all these bus lanes for buses which don’;t use them very of8. Councils seem very pleased to keep traffic stationary for as long as possible. The situation with traffic lights is terrible, for example. Motorists are unnecessarily kept waiting at them for [no] apparent reason.”

In order to improve the situation Bladon claims that Bristol City Council should remove ‘unnecessary’ traffic lights and make their roads more ‘driver-friendly’. He went on to claim that the traffic is so bad in Bristol that some motorists are leaving the city in order to find work and visit shopping centres. He added: “It’;s a daft way to go about things because people are going to Cribbs Causeway to shop instead of the city centre which is making businesses suffer.”

Responding to the Alliance of British Drivers’ survey and the fact that Bristol has now been named the “Worst Council for Mobility Choice”, a Bristol City Council spokesperson said: “Ultimately our aim isn’t to put people off driving and parking in the city, but to encourage more people to travel sustainably, particularly at busy times, be it through car sharing, cycling, walking or public transport. We recognise the importance of developing and improving public transport to achieve this and we hope to create a city where more people voluntarily travel by other means.”

Due to the UK population increasing dramatically over the past few years as well as the fact that there are now more people on the road than ever, a number of cities such as Bristol have been struggling to implement suitable traffic systems. As mentioned by Bristol City Council’s spokesperson, councils are responsible for reducing emissions in their constituencies as well as making the roads safe for other users such as cyclists and buses. Unfortunately, this often means that motorists will encounter more traffic systems on their routes and will therefore have to wait longer in traffic.

Do you think Bristol is the worst place in the UK for motorists? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or get in touch with us on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter!

Photo by Wikimedia Commons

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Is Bristol the Worst Spot to Drive in the UK?