Toyota yesterday kept the title of world’s biggest automaker for the fourth straight year after saying it sold 10.15mn vehicles globally in 2015, driving past Volkswagen and General Motors.
Dented by a pollution-cheating scandal, Volkswagen earlier logged sales of 9.93mn vehicles worldwide, while Chevrolet and Cadillac maker GM moved 9.8mn last year.
Toyota shares jumped 3.80% to end at ¥6,881 ($58) in Tokyo yesterday, boosted by reports it is in talks with Suzuki over a partnership to build compact cars for emerging markets, including India.
Strong North American demand drove Toyota’s figures as total sales slipped 0.8% from 2014, largely owing to a slowdown in Japan where a weak economy hit demand.
Toyota is also facing sluggish sales in Thailand and Indonesia while a Japanese consumption tax hike planned for next year could spark a rush in buying – and subsequent slowdown as prices go up.
The Japanese giant was likely to keep the top automaker crown for at least another year, but a slowdown in top vehicle market China could hurt its numbers, analysts said.
“Toyota is benefiting from the strength of the US auto market, and we expect it to continue to grow this year, so the company should keep its crown,” said Yoshiaki Kawano, a Tokyo-based analyst at research firm IHS.
“But in China, Toyota lags behind VW or Nissan”.
In the first-half of the year, the German giant, whose other brands include Porsche and Audi, was set to become the world’s biggest automaker as it rode momentum in emerging economies. But then it posted its first drop in annual sales for more than a decade, as the company was hammered by a massive pollution cheating scandal.
Volkswagen was sideswiped by stunning revelations in September that it had fitted 11mn vehicles with devices designed to dodge pollution tests. The US government has said it was suing VW for $20bn in civil penalties over the scandal.
Toyota broke GM’s decades-long reign as the world’s top automaker in 2008 but lost it three years later to the US firm, as Japan’s 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster dented production and disrupted the supply chains.
However, in 2012 it once again overtook its Detroit rival and has remained on top since. Yesterday, rival Nissan said its global sales hit a calendar-year record 5.42mn units. Including Nissan’s French partner Renault, the group’s 8.22mn combined sales put it in fourth place globally.
South Korea’s Hyundai sat in fifth spot with 8.01mn vehicles sold.
Toyota’s upbeat announcement comes despite the firm struggling to recover its reputation for safety after the recall of millions of cars around the world for various problems in recent years, including an exploding airbag crisis at supplier Takata.
At least 10 deaths globally and scores of injuries have been linked to the faulty airbags fitted in cars made by some of the world’s leading auto giants. Toyota, maker of the Camry sedan and Prius hybrid, had stopped building new plants for several years, and turned its focus to quality rather than sales volume.
Customers check vehicles from Toyota at the company’s showroom in Tokyo. The Japanese firm is likely to keep the top automaker crown for at least another year, but a slowdown in top vehicle market China could hurt its numbers, analysts said yesterday.
