South Africa’s automotive domestic market sales reached 52 306 units in the first month of 2015, with automotive manufacturer Toyota achieving 21% of overall sales, ending the month with 11 191 units sold.

Toyota topped the log of overall sales for January 2015 and ranked the top seller for total passenger and light commercial vehicles last month. The brand contributed 4 201 units – 25% of the overall export market.

Toyota’s top sellers include the Toyota Hilux bakkie, which was the overall top-selling vehicle in 2014. Last month, this stalwart sold 2 605 units, while its stable mate, the Toyota Fortuner, recorded 721 units. Toyota’s other top performers in January included the Quantum Ses’fikile, at 1 222 units, the Corolla/Quest combo, at 2 354 units, and the entry-level Etios, at 1 820.

“The modest decline of 1.2% year-on-year in overall domestic sales shows great resilience in a tough market, which is currently marred by slower economic growth and exchange-rate-induced new-vehicle price increases,” says Toyota South Africa sales and marketing senior VP Calvyn Hamman.

He adds that Toyota’s industry forecast for 2015 is a modest 630 000 units. The reduction in the fuel price does, however, prompt a positive outlook from consumers, which will probably keep inflation growth in check and bring stability to interest rate changes.

The proposed new taxation on company vehicles could also prompt employers to move from the company car option to a car allowance, resulting in higher sales. Companies that prefer employees to remain on a company car option will have to buy the vehicles before the tax year-end on February 28, 2015, to remain at the lower taxable rate.

“The upward trend, particularly in the sports utility vehicle and passenger segments, bodes well for the remainder of the year. “However, economic pressure remains and consumers are cautious about incurring additional debt,” says Hamman.

He concludes that there has been an uptick in consumers buying used vehicles, which can be attributed to price increases on new vehicles and the availability of good-quality used stock at an affordable price.