The Japanese automaker maintains its lead as the company with the highest sales in Peru, but has seen a significant drop in sales of heavy vehicles, which it hopes to offset with the popularity of its light and hybrid vehicles.
Toyota Peru begins 2025 with the expectation of boosting new car sales in the Andean country, after two years of moderate growth. The automaker revealed in the presentation of its half-year report that 2024 closed with 8% fewer sales than the previous year. It should be noted that they initially set a goal of 160,000 new vehicles sold, although 158,234 units were finally sold.
However, Luis Flores, assistant marketing manager for Toyota Peru , points out that sales of light and heavy vehicles run on separate lines. While the latter have stagnated in the last two quarters, the former show an upward trend. Likewise, vehicle loans reached 25% of the market share, but it is expected to fall to 22% for a simple reason.
“What we have are mainly high interest rates in banks. In previous years we were talking about a rate of 6 to 15% and today we are at least at 9, in many cases reaching 20% and that is generating a downward curve. Another important point is the rate of default, which has reached 4%,” explained Flores.
THE CONTRASTS OF TOYOTA
Despite these discouraging figures, the Japanese multinational remains positioned as the automotive company with the largest market share in Peru (21%). From this position, Toyota is confident that the popularity of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and pick-ups in Peru will help boost its sales. A clear example is the Yaris, normally used as a family car or taxi, or the Hilux pickup truck, a common cargo or travel vehicle.
Under this premise, Flores highlighted that this approach has allowed Toyota to occupy 40% of the pick-up truck market in Peru. In parallel, the company's minivan line , headed by the Avanza and Hiace models, suffered a drop from 39 to 36% in market share, but maintains its leadership over the competition.
Flores then highlighted the tendency of Peruvian customers to buy more vehicles with automatic transmissions, to the detriment of manual units. “It is a natural tendency, because the automatic vehicle gives you more control over the steering wheel, greater “power capacity” in any situation. It also allows you to save fuel,” explained the assistant manager.
COMMITMENT TO ELECTROMOBILITY
In terms of electrified vehicles, Toyota Peru closed last year with 1,800 units sold and a 32% share of the national market. Flores attributes this expansion to the fact that sales of hybrid vehicles have doubled. In addition, this milestone comes months after September marked the 15th anniversary of the sale of the Toyota Prius, the company's first hybrid model, in Peru.
However, the Andean country remains a demanding market in South America, due to its modest advances in electromobility. “Penetration is still low compared to other countries. Although in 2024, the electric vehicle market grew by 50% and we reached 4% of the total, this ratio is much lower than the 25% registered by Colombia. But if we compare Peru with Chile and Ecuador, which have ratios of 5 and 7%, it means that we are growing,” David Caro, marketing manager of Toyota Peru , told AméricaEconomía .
Caro backed up these claims with the latest estimates from the Automotive Association of Peru (AAP). The association notes that Peru will surpass the threshold of 10,000 electric vehicles in 2025, which will raise the market share to 7%. On the other hand, Caro maintains that Toyota will boost sales of hybrid vehicles through promotional activities in universities, ministries and interest groups, which usually include test drives of these models.
