Toyota UK Sales By Model : 2013

The Avensis. They really are a sound car (sold in NZ too).

From 2002 to 2009 inclusive, Toyota exceeded 100,000 sales in the UK. From 2010 onward, that number hasn't been reached. The difference is that Toyota was getting up around 5% share but is now in the 4% region. Why is that?

For a start the Corolla (now Auris) is tracking about 7,000 short of back then, and the Avensis is only a shadow of its former self. The latter model is over 20,000 short of its peak in 2004.

The Auris name was adopted to distance the model from an underwhelming image the Corolla had in Europe, but by then making the same type of car fooled no one. The Auris is a good car, but the European - and in this case UK - customer isn't that interested it seems. That's a pity as it is better than the sales suggest. It has hybrid options and an estate car has now added, which gave it a 64% boost in 2013. It needs to lift even more from here in 2014.

The Avensis is also a good vehicle, competing in a challenging segment. The large car in Europe isn't that popular and is mainly a fleet purchase. Still, 5,000 sales is abysmal. It too has a saloon, estate and hybrid in the range so it should be doing much, much better.

Both of these models that are highlighted in different colours below are UK made, but support for local industry only goes so far. I think Toyota UK is missing out here as I would happily buy either model if in that segment for a car....provided the price was competitive of course.

11	12	13		Sales	Share	+/-
1	1	1	Yaris	31,153	35.1%	4%
2	2	2	Agyo	16,262	18.3%	1%
3	3	3	Auris	16,215	18.3%	64%
7	6	4	Rav4	7,174	8.1%	78%
4	4	5	Avensis	5,384	6.1%	-38%
6	7	6	Verso	3,720	4.2%	3%
5	5	7	Prius	3,302	3.7%	-36%
-	9	8	GT86	1,772	2.0%	23%
8	8	9	iQ	1,464	1.7%	-45%
-	11	10	Prius+	1,108	1.2%	34%
11	12	11	Land Cr V8	556	0.6%	-29%
10	10	12	Land Cr Prado	540	0.6%	-35%
9	13	13	Urban Cruiser	3	0.0%	-100%
			Total	88,653		4.8%

Data source: Thanks to Toyota UK.

As for the other models here, the small Yaris and Aygo lead the charge numerically but generally such vehicles are difficult to make money on. The new Rav4 had a strong increase but the rest are too low in volume to affect anything.

Summary: Toyota is big everywhere, except Europe. If models such as the Auris cannot do better, then there is something wrong with what TMUK is doing. However, reliability is one thing Toyota do right. This article from Toyota UK is well worth a read (please click here).

The Auris Tourer Hybrid. Pity you cannot buy one in NZ.