ROME – Despite the well-known difficulties that the automotive market is going through, the Toyota group continues its growth, setting new records in Italy. Overall, the Toyota and Lexus brands totaled over 95,000 registrations, reaching a market share of over 7%, the best result achieved to date by the Japanese group in our country.
The reasons for this success, according to the house, are the use of the wide and renewed range of electrified cars, the innovative financing, rental, insurance and connectivity solutions proposed and evidently appreciated by users such as, for example, the world programs ” Wehybrid”. Going into detail, the Toyota brand, with over 92,000 registrations, confirms its third position in the brand ranking for the second consecutive year, with a 7% share, up 1.2% compared to 2021 (second best-selling brand to private individuals, with a share in the channel of over 9%).
A notable contribution to the good performance came from the Yaris family, from the C-HR and Rav4 SUVs and the launch of the new Corolla Cross and Aygo X which took third place in segment A with a 7.3% share. In the premium market, the Lexus brand closed 2022 with over 3,200 registrations, a market share of 1.4% and a substantial order book to be satisfied during 2023. The luxury brand’s bestseller was the new NX SUV with around 1,600 units registered and a 3.2% share (+0.5% compared to 2021) in its reference segment and excellent performance from the Plug In Hybrid engine, preferred by half of the buyers.
“2022 has been an extraordinary year for us. I thank all the customers, who have chosen and trusted us, the Toyota and Lexus dealerships and the team of companies of the Toyota group in Italy for the fantastic work they have done – said Luigi Ksawery Luca’, CEO of Toyota Motor Italia – 2023 will be a year full of innovations, during which we will strengthen our multi-technological approach, to provide all people with the best mobility solution, leaving no one behind. We will introduce extraordinary battery electric cars, such as the new Toyota bZ4X and the Lexus RZ, and we will continue to develop our Full Hybrid technology, now in its fifth generation and the core of our offer, the most immediate solution to reduce emissions, the most accessible and easily usable by all people”.
Good performances also for Kinto, the third brand of the group dedicated to innovative mobility services and a pillar of the transformation strategy of Toyota into a mobility company. In particular, Kinto One, the long-term rental with an all-inclusive formula, closed the year with a 110% growth compared to 2021, with a share of around 6% of total Toyota and Lexus registrations in Italy. “A 2022 of exceptional growth is coming to an end for Kinto Italia, a new company of the Toyota group set up just over a year ago, which has seen extremely flattering results – said Mauro Caruccio, CEO Toyota Financial Services Italia, CEO and chairman of Kinto Italia – Results that would not have been possible to achieve without the precious teamwork carried out together with our dealers in the official Toyota and Lexus network. Also in 2023 I am sure that we will be able to intercept the emerging mobility needs in the area, offering the market our financial solutions and even more exclusive, flexible and customizable services such as, for example, Kinto Flex, short-term rental by subscription flexible, which we will introduce during the year and which will enrich the brand’s already wide range of mobility solutions”. (Maurilio Rigo)