Popularity of Derbyshire-built Toyota driving sales at motor group

The popularity of Toyota cars – particularly a model built in Derbyshire – is driving up sales at Ron Brooks Motor Group.

The family-run car dealer, which has more than 50 years supplying Toyota cars to the East Midlands, but 60 years since founded, said that the popularity of its models was on the increase.

A star performer has been the Toyota Corolla, a car made by Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK at its Burnaston plant.

Latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show the sales of new Toyota models shot up by 78% in the UK last month, compared to January last year.

Brits snapped up over 8,000 new Toyota models last month, making Toyota the fifth most popular brand in the UK.

In terms of individual models, the Toyota Corolla was the 10th most popular, beating several established brands.

Tom Slack, group manager for strategy and innovation at Ron Brooks Group, said: “Toyota had a fantastic 2021 in the UK as it surpassed both 100,000 sales and achieved a 6.1% market share.

“As one of Toyota’s longest serving partners, this is a very proud moment for Ron Brooks.

“The performance was also delivered in a very challenging year with the ongoing global crisis.”

As well as Toyota, Ron Brooks Motor Group also has a Suzuki dealership, another brand that has enjoyed a strong start to 2022, with sales up 111% on January last year.

Tom said: “Our order bank is exceptionally strong at present for both the brands we represent, Toyota and Suzuki, as well as a number of exciting model launches.

“We therefore have high expectations for 2022. It is encouraging to see both brands performing well in the first month of the year.”