Toyota Yaris which saw its launch event washed out in March 2020 due to coronavirus pandemic followed by lockdowns while observing zero sales in its initial months continue to post strong sales figures after the ease in lockdowns & economic revival from August 2020.
Related: Toyota Yaris Outsells Honda City & Civic Combined
In September it became the second bestselling car in Pakistan behind Pak Suzuki Alto but as we now have the October sales stats with us that were released by PAMA (Pakistan Automobile Manufacturers Association) yesterday, the Yaris has emerged as the highest selling car of the month with 3,085 units sold in October 2020, toppling the Alto which saw sales of 2,893 units.
And continuing on with its assault against the sedan rivals, the Yaris with a thumping 3,085 units outpaced Honda Civic & City combined the sales of which got reduced by 19% from 2,293 units in September 2020 to 1,858 units in October. Which means the sales of Toyota Yaris stood 66% higher than the combined number of Civic & City the average of which turns out to be just around 900 units.
Related: Troubling Times for Honda in Pakistan
Despite receiving multiple price revisions within a span of 7 months even when PKR is on a recovery mode against the US Dollar since August 2020, and the appearance itself which is being mocked on social media particularly due to its rather abnormal height, the real life sales performance of Yaris negates what’s being propagated on the internet.
Compared to Honda City which it directly competes to, the Toyota Yaris is not only new but a much better equipped car in a similar amount of money versus the rival which not only is a 12 years old car and 2 generations behind its global model, remains the most under-equipped vehicle currently on sale in Pakistan which doesn’t even offer a single airbag even in the most expensive 1.5L Aspire variant which cost PKR 28.59 lac.
Related: A Very Different Honda in Pakistan
As we have already discussed, Honda’s troubling times in Pakistan continues but with the presence of Toyota Yaris, Honda Altas now has much bigger problem to worry about. Plus Toyota Corolla which now has 1.6L & 1.8L Altis variants on sale only, was also able to post an 8% improvement in sales on month-on-month basis compared to the 19% decline Honda witnessed in October. Bear in mind bookings of Corolla Altis are now at a halt as the minor model change (facelift) is expected to go on sale in January 2021 (bookings for which will resume soon) carrying visual enhancements as seen here and will help company clear out the stocks before 12th gen model replaces it somewhere in the latter half of 2021.
A computer animation professional with over 23 years of industry experience having served in leading organizations, TV channels & production facilities in Pakistan. An avid car enthusiast and petrolhead with an affection to deliver quality content to help shape opinions. Formerly written for PakWheels as well as major publications including Dawn. Founder of CarSpiritPK.com
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