Naamsa’s new vehicle sales report for March 2022 shows that the Toyota Corolla Cross is a star performer for the brand.
The report revealed that during the month, Toyota sold 2,384 new Corolla Cross units.
This makes it more popular than the heaviest hitters in the country’s high-volume passenger vehicle market: the VW Polo and Polo Vivo.
In March, 1,420 new units of the VW Polo were sold – while 2,117 new units of the cheaper Polo Vivo were purchased.
The impressive performance of the Corolla Cross follows several month of strong sales.
According to Naamsa, since the SUV launched in November 2021 its monthly sales have been as follows:
- November 2021 – 1,757 units sold
- December 2021 – 1,752 units sold
- January 2022 – 1,356 units sold
- February 2022 – 1,693 units sold
This is made more impressive by the fact that the that the small SUV starts at just over R360,000 for the Corolla Cross 1.8 Xi model.
The top-end Corolla Cross 1.8 Hybrid XR then sells for R461,700.
Order backlog
The popularity of the Corolla Cross is not all good news, however.
Toyota South Africa confirmed in late March there was a backlog of Corolla Cross orders in the country.
This was due to global parts shortages as well as the strong local demand for the vehicle – which exceeded the company’s expectations.
“The waiting period for orders varies, depending on whether customers are purchasing petrol or hybrid models of the Corolla Cross,” said Toyota South Africa.
“With regards to the latter, we underestimated how well it would be received by the local market.”
Toyota stated it is not the only automaker to be impacted by these issues and that the shortages have affected manufacturers across the world.
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