- Overall market share of 22.8% achieved
- 10 330 units sold in May
- Hilux is the best-selling new vehicle and bakkie, with a 24.6% market share
- Top seller status in PC, LCV and MCV segments maintained
Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) has maintained its market share for the fifth consecutive month, signalling bullish performance despite a challenging environment. With an overall sales performance of 10 330 units, Toyota’s market share for May held at 22.8%. This is consistent with naamsa’s sentiments regarding the automotive industry’s sustained performance during the month of May.
According to naamsa, with 45,308 units shifted in May, aggregate domestic new vehicles sales reflected year-on-year increases in all categories: 30.0% for passenger cars; 5.8% for light commercial vehicles, bakkies and mini-busses and 22.7% for medium and heavy truck segments. Of the 45 308 new vehicles sold, Dealer sales accounted for 88.4%, indicating a strong presence and performance by the dealer network.
As expected, the new passenger car segment dominated sales with a steady performance of 31 741 units. 6 397 of these were Toyota vehicles that found new homes with their owners. New light commercial vehicles, bakkies and mini busses recorded 10 938 units, whilst the medium and heavy truck segment moved 1 969 units.
“The sales performance for May reflects why Toyota South Africa Motors has been market leader for the past 45 years. Maintaining this status quo requires discipline, hard work, tenacity and resilience – tenets which our employees, the dealer network and the entire Toyota value chain continue to embody. We are incredibly proud of the work that our people have done. With the recent South African Reserve Bank interest rate cuts, we are optimistic that we’ll have more customers joining our Toyota family,” expressed Leon Theron, Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing at Toyota South Africa Motors.
Brand Performance Highlights
Toyota maintained its pole position as a top seller in the Passenger Cars, Light Commercial Vehicles and Medium Commercial Vehicles segments.
In May, the best performers for Toyota include the Corolla Cross (1629), Starlet (1039), and the Starlet Cross (694). The Toyota Fortuner moved an impressive 679 units. Lexus’s performance remained steady with 109 – 46 of these units comprised the Lexus GX, reflecting South Africa’s growing demand for practical, luxury SUVs. The Toyota Vitz has come back stronger with 624 units, a 30% increase in comparison to units sold in April 2025.
With a market share of 24.6%, the Toyota Hilux (2548 units) maintained its dominance as South Africa’s best-selling bakkie. The medium and heavy truck segments displayed resilience with the Hino 500 and 700’s combined sales increasing to 115 units.
Shifting gears to fleet performance, sales for May reinforced Toyota’s position as a trusted mobility partner for business customers nationally. Toyota’s fleet success marked a strong 8.5% year-on-year increase in fleet volume compared to May 2024 with 3464 units. The Toyota Rumion emerged as one of the top-performing fleet models for the month, with business customers embracing its unique seven-seat flexibility. Fleet sales of the Rumion saw a remarkable 74% increase compared to May 2024.
“Toyota South Africa remains focused on delivering quality, reliable fleet vehicles that add value across industries, utilising our extensive customer-centric dealer network,” concluded Theron.
The parts division surpassed its standard performance with over two million pieces of domestic distribution, and 359 379 pieces exported to international markets, while vehicle exports tallied 5566 units.
