Toyota Leads the Way into 2026
Hilux retains its position as South Africa’s best-selling vehicle
The South African new-vehicle market opened 2026 on a positive note, with aggregate domestic sales reaching 50 073 units in January – a year-on-year increase of 7.5%. Vehicle exports also recorded modest growth, rising by 0.6% to 24 568 units compared to the same period last year.
Against this improving industry backdrop, Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) delivered a strong start to the year, selling 11 786 vehicles and securing a market-leading share of 23.5%.
“Our January sales performance is a solid result and an encouraging indicator for the months ahead. It reflects improving consumer confidence, as well as the depth and strength of our product line-up,”
says Leon Theron, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at TSAM.
Toyota maintained its leadership in the passenger vehicle segment with a market share of 21.1% (7 841 units). The Vitz, Starlet, Starlet Cross and Rumion all featured strongly on the national leaderboard, recording sales of 1 514, 1 372, 1 119 and 1 049 units respectively.
In the luxury segment, Lexus delivered a steady performance, led by its flagship SUVs. The LX and GX recorded sales of 31 and 40 units respectively, while the remainder of the Lexus range contributed a further 27 units.
Fleet sales also gained strong momentum, with business customers accounting for 42.5% of Toyota’s dealer sales in January. More than 2 000 businesses selected Toyota vehicles to support their mobility requirements during the month.
In the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment, Hilux extended its dominance with 2 475 units sold, retaining its position as South Africa’s overall best-selling vehicle. This performance contributed to Toyota’s commanding 33.2% share of the LCV market. The Hiace recorded 557 units, reinforcing Toyota’s leadership in the taxi segment, while the enduring Land Cruiser 79 pick-up added a further 484 units.
Toyota also led the medium commercial vehicle (MCV) segment with a 42.1% market share. This was supported by strong performances from the Hino 300 (84 units), Coaster (72 units) and Quantum (72 units).
In the aftersales space, Toyota’s parts operations remained robust, with more than 1.9 million parts distributed locally in January. Export volumes reached 333 335 parts, reflecting sustained demand across the continent.
“Our performance is underpinned by the collective efforts of our dealer network, as well as our Sales, Aftersales and Marketing teams. Together with a loyal customer base and a competitive product portfolio, this has enabled Toyota to retain its leadership position in the South African market for more than four decades,”
concluded Theron.
*Information provided by the publicist.
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