Chery names its first bakkie Grootman
Chery has named its first bakkie for South Africa Grootman, a name chosen by South Africans. The model is planned to make its local debut in the first quarter of 2027.
- Product News
- 2 October 2026
Toyota Motor Corp plans to produce about 10.3 million vehicles globally in 2024, breaking its record annual production for the second consecutive year, the Nikkei reported.
Toyota is preparing to increase production thanks to strong sales of hybrid vehicles. The shortage of automotive semiconductors and other components is also easing, the Nikkei says.
For the calendar year to December, the world's biggest automaker by sales aims to produce 3.4 million vehicles in Japan and 6.9 million overseas, the report said. The figures include its luxury Lexus brand.
The report was not something the company had announced, a Toyota spokesperson said without commenting further.
Toyota will target an annual output of over 10.5 million vehicles, Nikkei says. It added that the company set electric vehicle production levels at approximately 250 000 vehicles in 2024 and 600 000 units in 2025.
Toyota produced 9.2 million vehicles during the first 11 months of 2023, it said last month. Around a third of the vehicles it sold worldwide over that period were gasoline-electric hybrids.
South Africa’s new vehicle market recorded aggregate domestic sales of 61 645 units in September 2026, an increase of 12.7% compared with the 54 706 units sold during September 2025.
SA Auto Week 2026 is scheduled to take place in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, from 13 to 16 October, with the event marking five years of SA Auto Week.
South Africa’s domestic new-vehicle market strengthened in September, recording 61 645 sales, its highest monthly total of 2026. Sales increased by 3 747 vehicles, or 6.5%, from August’s originally reported total and were 12.7% higher than in September 2025.