Toyota weathers the Covid-19 storm
In May, the company supplied more than 1.1 million parts pieces to its dealers in order to support essential vehicles operating under Alert Level 4.
Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) is pleased that the economy has been opened up following two months of hard lockdown that put businesses as well as the local automotive industry through the wringer.
During lockdown Alert Levels 5 and 4, the South African automotive sales and services were only limited to essential services personnel. For the month of April, during Alert Level 5, Toyota supplied more than 2 600 parts pieces to the local dealer network with the express aim of supporting the mobility of all essential workers.
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In May, Toyota supplied more than 1.1 million parts pieces to its dealers in order to support essential vehicles operating under Alert Level 4. A further 163 000 parts pieces were exported into African countries between May 18 and 31.
TSAM is also pleased that its parts distribution business was operating at 80 percent of pre-lockdown volumes while its vehicle service operations were at almost full capacity by the end of May. The sales of new vehicles were indolent in the last two months due to the government-imposed lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus, but the motoring industry welcomes the relaxation of the regulations that now allow for the opening up of business operations.
According to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa, although the 12 932 new vehicles sold in May 2020 still reflect a substantial decline of 27 496 units (68 percent) compared to 40 428 units sold in May last year, this was a noteworthy improvement from the April 2020 performance when only 574 units were shifted.
TSAM accounted for 1 848 new vehicle sales in May while a further 1 418 pre-owned units were sold through Toyota Automark. In the light commercial vehicles segment, Toyota staked a claim of 34.1 percent – courtesy of class-leading sales by Hilux and Hiace, which were both in demand for many essential services during May.
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