Heels & Horsepower Magazine

Toyota Hilux Continues to Dominate Bakkie Sales Segment

You can’t talk about bakkie sales figures without talking about Toyota Hilux as the most popular light commercial vehicle in South Africa continues to grow from strength to strength.

It has sold more than one million units in South Africa (SA), has been the segment leader for 48 of the 50-plus years it’s been in SA and currently boasts the longest active model range in the country. The latest news is that he Hilux has once again topped the sales chart in the domestic market, posting a total of 3 700 units in May – the highest monthly aggregate by any model this year.

The Hilux’s mass appeal cannot be denied, and this is supported by the fact that it’s a top seller in the Single, Extra and Double Cab body type

– Leon Theron, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Toyota South Africa Motors

The Hilux, together with the Hiace (1 331), spearheaded Toyota’s strong show of 5 336 sales in the Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) – staking a market share of 44.7%.

“The Hilux’s mass appeal cannot be denied, and this is supported by the fact that it’s a top seller in the Single, Extra and Double Cab body types. Hilux caters to customers who are interested in both leisure (Double Cab) and small business (Single Cab) vehicles, as well as anything in-between (Extra Cab),” says Leon Theron, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Toyota South Africa Motors.

Out of Toyota’s aggregate sales of 9 882 (25.8% market share), a remarkable 4 316 – translating to a 17.9% market share – were passenger units. Some of the star performers in the segment included Fortuner (872), Urban Cruiser (717), Starlet (651), Corolla Quest (614) and Agya (517).

Hilux caters to customers who are interested in both leisure and small business vehicles, as well as anything in-between.

– LEON THERON, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES AND MARKETING AT TOYOTA SOUTH AFRICA MOTORS

Toyota’s luxury arm Lexus continues to lead the company’s strategy towards the adoption of new energy vehicles. For almost every Lexus model (other than LX and LC) sold in the country, there is a hybrid variant available. In addition, Lexus has two hybrid-exclusive model ranges – the newly-minted IS and the premium compact UX SUV. Lexus sold a total of 55 vehicles in May, with 22% being hybrid models – a clear indicator that, like its Toyota stablemate, Lexus is on a serious path to carbon neutrality.

On the truck front, Hino sold a total of 187 units – of which 98 (19% market share in Medium Commercial Vehicles) were 300-Series and 63 were 500-Series (13% share in the Heavy Commercial Vehicle segment) models.

The incredible loyalty shown by our customers over more than half a century has enabled us to achieve an outstanding share of the local market

– LEON THERON, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES AND MARKETING AT TOYOTA SOUTH AFRICA MOTORS

To keep Toyota, Hino and Lexus vehicles in good running condition, a total of 124 027 models were serviced last month while no less 1.4 million part pieces were supplied to domestic dealers, with a further 314 000 shipped outside of the country. 

Concludes Theron: “The incredible loyalty shown by our customers over more than half a century has enabled us to achieve an outstanding share of the local market.

We are thankful to our fleet owners and rental companies for their continued support in these trying economic times. We are also grateful to our Dealer Network, as well as all Toyota staff, for their sterling efforts in making Toyota such a competitive brand.”

WATCH: Volvo Engineers Use Gaming To Develop Safer Cars

Volvo Cars engineers call it “the ultimate driving simulator”, but its not just an excuse for them to indulge their inner basement gamer.

Volvo Cars engineers call it “the ultimate driving simulator”, but its not just an excuse for them to indulge their inner basement gamer.

Instead, the Swedish automaker has developed a ground-breaking mixed-reality simulator which it uses to make new strides in safety and autonomous driving technology.

Using cutting-edge technology from the leading real-time 3D development platform Unity and Finnish virtual and mixed reality experts Varjo, the simulator involves driving a real car on real roads.

It combines life-like, high definition 3D graphics, an augmented reality headset, and a full-body Teslasuit that provides haptic feedback from a virtual world, while also monitoring bodily reactions.

This combination of software and hardware allows Volvo Cars engineers to endlessly simulate traffic scenarios on a real test track road while using a real car, all in total safety.

Engineers can gain important insights on the interaction between people and the car for development of new safety, driver assistance and autonomous driving features.