Toyota New Zealand has announced this month that its sights remain set on market leadership, not only in new vehicle sales but also reduction of CO2 across their fleet and meeting the mobility needs of Kiwis.
Toyota New Zealand Chief Executive Officer, Neeraj Lala says they take their responsibility as market leader seriously.
“Our responsibility as market leader extends beyond selling cars,” says Neeraj. “It extends to sustainability, meeting the mobility needs of kiwis to help them move freely, and contributing to the communities we operate in.
“This moves beyond just introducing low emission products, it is also the journey towards mobility and car sharing technologies, development of the hydrogen economy, and contributing technological innovation to alternative sectors such as the flourishing marine industry through our long-standing relationship with Emirates Team New Zealand.
“We are not being complacent on our bid for market leadership for a 35th consecutive year as we start to see our vehicle production return amidst global supply chain disruption,” says Neeraj.
“However, it is equally as important for Toyota’s business continuity that we continue to electrify our fleet and ensure that our carbon footprint for new vehicle sales is on a downward trajectory to meet our emissions objective.”
Toyota New Zealand sold 3,156 new vehicles in the month of May, with an electrification mix of 34%. Year-to-date their CO2 emissions for new vehicle sales sits at 162g/km.
“It is telling that one of our top selling vehicles was the hybrid electric RAV4. We have seen an ever-increasing move to hybrid versions of our vehicles, as customers are able to now receive a Clean Car Discount for them,” says Neeraj.
The Toyota RAV4 was the second bestselling vehicle for Toyota for May with 925 units sold, with a 46% hybrid electric mix. The top selling vehicle was the Hilux with 937 sales, and the third was the Corolla with 307 sales.
Toyota RAV4
“Our goal has always been depth and breadth of our range as we continue to move forward on our electrification journey, to ensure we are meeting the needs of all our Kiwi customers.”
The Toyota Corolla has been a Kiwi favourite going back to its debut in 1966, and the globally popular Corolla is one model Toyota’s solid reputation has been built upon. Today the Corolla line-up starts with three Hybrid modes - the GX Hybrid hatch, priced from $35,990, the mid-spec SX Hybrid is $37,990 and the flagship ZR Hybrid is $41,990.
Toyota Corolla 2019
Motor Industry Association data shows that 308 new Corollas were registered in May, with 217 of these being hybrids. While results demonstrate that there are still has a small number of petrol models available for sale, the new petrol Corollla hatch variant is no longer being advertised on Toyota’s website as available. This certainly demonstrates Toyotas intention to shift its fleet in order to deliver on their emissions objective.