Photo: Toyota
Toyota, VW and GM have been battling for the number one spot as the world’s largest automaker for quite some time, now, and while the Japanese automaker may have lost its crown in 2012, it has managed to regain it before the end of the year.
They have managed to offset the weak European market, with strong sales on the Japanese domestic market, as well as the US, where sales are also going very well. In fact, the sheer size and strength of the US market has helped all thee automakers to grow, in these economically uncertain times, and it is set to expand further in 2013 - good considering, the entire industry was bailed out in 2009, following its near-collapse.
According to Rebecca Lindland, an industry analyst with IHS Automotive, “because the U.S. is so large, when we have a double-digit growth it’s going to propel the rest of the world [ . . . ] The gains can mask a myriad of sins elsewhere, because many of the other economies aren’t exactly setting the world on fire.”
Still, the race remains tight, and it could go either way, considering the fact that GM and VW are separated by less than 1%, with 6.95-million units sold in the first three quarters, by VW, and 6.9-million sold by GM in the same time frame.
According to Rebecca Lindland, an industry analyst with IHS Automotive, “because the U.S. is so large, when we have a double-digit growth it’s going to propel the rest of the world [ . . . ] The gains can mask a myriad of sins elsewhere, because many of the other economies aren’t exactly setting the world on fire.”
Still, the race remains tight, and it could go either way, considering the fact that GM and VW are separated by less than 1%, with 6.95-million units sold in the first three quarters, by VW, and 6.9-million sold by GM in the same time frame.
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