BusinessDay 19 Sep 2018

Page 31

Wednesday 19 September 2018

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Toyota’s 10.4m sales beat rivals in 2018 FY …Tops most valuable car brands chat worldwide Stories by MIKE OCHONMA

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he graph illustrates Toyota’s car sales from the fiscal year of 2014 to the fiscal year of 2018. Toyota’s For three years in a row, Toyota has been the largest automaker in the world, based on calendar year sales figures. Worldwide, the Japanese automaker sold around 10.4 million vehicles in the fiscal year that ended in March 2018, making it the largest in terms of global car sales. Toyota’s China woes aside, key figures for the Japanese company are shining bright, particularly in terms of sustainability. Its market value outperforms the likes of Facebook, Amazon or the China Construction Bank. Furthermore, Toyota Motor Company is believed to be the most profitable carmaker worldwide, raking in gross profits of around 33 billion U.S. dollars (or 3.39 trillion Japanese yen) in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014. The company designs, manufactures and sells passenger vehicles, trucks and motorcycles under five brands, including the millennial-targeted brand Scion and the luxur y brand Lexus. Calculations within some global automotive industry schools of that, in the long run, it is expected that Germany’s Volkswagen Group, currently the second largest automotive manufacturer globally,

will overtake Toyota both in terms of sales revenue and production output. Both companies have entere d par tnerships with automobile manufacturing joint ventures in China, although Toyota’s vehicle sales in the world’s largest automobile market are miniscule compared to VW’s 3.7 million deliveries. Between January and June 2014, Volkswagen and joint ventures claimed the title as China’s leading passenger vehicle manufacturer, while Toyota continued to struggle. Meanwhile, the ranking of the world’s most valuable car brands in 2018 was topped by Toyota. The brand which is a sub-division of the Toyota Motor Company was founded in the late 1930s. This statistic shows the most valuable automo-

tive brands worldwide in 2018, based on brand value. The Toyota marque was ranked as the world’s most valuable car brand in 2018, with a brand value of nearly 30 billion U.S. dollars. The Japanese manufacturer is one of the largest companies within the global automotive industry. It is active in a variety of segments, including SUVs and crossovers, trucks and motorcycles. Furthermore, Toyota invests heavily in the research and development of hybrid electric vehicles, as well as plug-in and fullelectric vehicles. In addition to its operations in the automotive manufacturing industry, Toyota is involved in various other areas, including robotics and aerospace projects. Beside Toyota, auto-

motive brands such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Ford also made it into the list of the most valuable car brands worldwide. Germany’s MercedesBenz (a division of Stuttgart-based car and truck maker Daimler) manufactures luxury and crossover automobiles, buses and trucks. In 2017, the car manufacturing subdivision, Merecedes-Benz Cars had total revenue of around 94.7 billion euros. In 2018, the scandalstricken Volkswagen passenger car brand climbed back on the tail of the list, while Tesla made a steady climb up the ranking. Of the big three U.S. automakers, General Motors and Chrysler sell automobiles under a variety of brands, while Ford sells vehicles under its namesake Ford brand and the Lincoln brand.

Jaguar to build charging network for electric cars

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arketing electric vehicles in many countries has always been a chicken-andegg scenario; there’s not much sense bringing your company’s battery-powered and plug-in hybrid models to South Africa until there is network of public street charging points in place, and no energy company is going to sink millions into charging infrastructure until there’s a fleet of customers that will buy power from it. However, somebody, somewhere had to grasp the nettle, and now Jaguar has done it ahead of the local launch of its I-Pace electric SUV in South Africa being the

regional market hub for all Jaguar vehicles that is entering into most African markets. This is in partnership with electric vehicle charging provider GridCars, with an ambitious R30-million plan for a network of 82 new public charging stations in the

country’s major cities and along frequently-travelled holiday routes. Under the plans, there will be a public charging stations (not just for JLR models but for all electric vehicles) in the customer parking area at every Jaguar Land Rover

dealership retailer in South Africa and another 30 at shopping centres in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London and Bloemfontein. Which is fine for day-today commuting and school runs - but what about holiday road trips? That’s where it gets interesting: there will also be a series of 22 charging stations along the N1 between Gauteng and Cape Town, and the N3 between Gauteng and Durban. Cape Town will also be connected to the Garden Route with a series of charging stations along the N2 all the way to East London.

BUSINESS DAY

31

Throne Autos floats N5million... Continued from page 30

lekan Ilori,during the occasion announced his new pet project tagged the “Throne Charity Foundation” whilst he donated the sum of N5 million as initial take off funding and solicited for the support of all present and Nigerians in general to support the foundation, which he explained was targeted at kids of humble background. Highlight of the event was the emergence of Abimbola Kazeem alias “Jigan”; an actor and instagram influencer who re-enacted his acting career through with “Sho Mo Age Mi Ni” skit ,as the lucky winner of the grand prize of Toyota Corrolla. After emerging as winner,Jigan said that 2018 has heralded in good tidings of huge impact to his family after obeying

Gods’ directive on January 1 not to observe his watch night service in church but by offering prayers,by his bed side and upon obedience ,the year has brought him,endorsements,child birth and latest addition been a Toyota Corrola he won at the event,which he accessed with a Keke Napep,locally known as Maruwa. Deji Oso a guest speaker at the event implored the attendees and the Nigeria motoring public to patronize the company as they stood to benefit from the Business to Business (B2B) Partner Scheme, through the company hassle free car purchase transactions or via their referral scheme, where a referral stands to benefit 50 dollars for every prospecting and eventual customers/car deal concluded by them.

L-R: Olalekan Michael Ilori, chairman/CEO, Throne group of companies, Oladipo Oladimeji, managing director, Throne Autos Nig. Ltd. and Deji Oso, Coo, Vintage Options Ltd, during the Throne Autos consumer car give-away press briefing held at Rolace Hotel, Ajao Estate, Lagos.

Cost-effective CFAO Yamaha bike... Continued from page 30

adjustable; advanced air cooled engine; good ground clearance: 160mm ; and strong, long and comfortable seat”. On fuel economy, a rider who works for six days a week, covering 140kilometres a week, saves N144,000 per annum from fuel versus competitors motorcycles, even as on engine oil economy, the rider saves up to 10 percent per week with Yamalube which is Yamaha’s genuine engine oil. C FA O Ya m a h a a l s o have skilled technical team trained by the manufacturer in terms of production and quality control according to Yamaha standards, and backed by very strong aftersales network across the country through dealers and local mechanic training. There is also room for adequate mechanic training, provision of special service tools and service manuals for repairs, as well as genuine

spare parts. Explaining the background of the company, the Marketing Manager, Funmi Abiola disclosed that CAO Yamaha Motor Nigeria Limited is a joint venture between the CFAO group and Yamaha Motor Corporation (YMC) of Japan Strengthened by its “Empowered by a passion for innovation, we create exceptional value and experiences that enrich the lives of our customers” brand statement, the marketing manager said that Yamaha’s line of products include motorcycles, marine products and other motorized products. Yamaha Motor Corporation’s (YMCs) core technical competencies include small engine technology, chassis and hull technology and electronic control technology, just as its manufacturing systems covers Europe, Asia, North America, Japan and South America.


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