UMW Toyota Motor (UMWT) has reported sales of over 17,000 units of Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the first quarter of 2021. UMWT says that combined, the brands have approximately 12.1% share of the Malaysian market, and the Q1 2021 performance is 62% higher year-on-year.

The top selling models for UMWT were the Toyota Vios and Toyota Hilux; updated in October 2020, the latter continues to lead the pick-up truck market with around 56% share in Q1 2021. With the third-generation Honda Jazz now at the end of its lifecycle, the Toyota Yaris has assumed leadership of the non-national hatchback segment, with an estimated market share of 73% in the first quarter.

Both the Yaris and its Vios sedan sister were facelifted in December 2020. Now with a sporty GR-S (GR Sport) flagship variant, the updated Vios range found 5,600 new owners since its launch late last year. UMWT says that “the appeal of this model is expected to increase,” and the Vios Challenge one-make-race series – now in its fourth season – has created a dynamic impression of the B-segment sedan.

Toyota has been a busy company of late – it also introduced the facelifts of the Innova MPV and Fortuner SUV in February. That was followed by the debut of the Corolla Cross last month.

A new B/C-segment crossover, the Corolla Cross was launched in two 1.8L variants (G and V), imported from Thailand. The CBU units have all been spoken for, but UMWT says that it will continue order-taking for CKD locally assembled units, which will be available for delivery “towards Q4 2021”. Another sold out car is the GR Yaris rally-bred hot hatch, which was launched along with the Vios/Yaris in December.

The Hari Raya festive season is just around the corner now, and UMWT will be running the ‘Countless Rewards’ promo as a further incentive for you to buy a new car before the SST exemption period ends on June 30. The company also has its EZ Beli financing scheme offering low monthly instalments.

GALLERY: 2021 Toyota Corolla Cross 1.8V