Toyota remains the world’s best-selling automaker, with 10.151 million vehicles sold last year.
The Japanese company is on a roll, with the fourth consecutive title of this kind. The other two businesses that were on the sales podium in 2015 were Volkswagen AG with 9.93 million vehicles and General Motors with 9.8 million.
Toyota was surpassed in the first half of 2015 by Volkswagen, but the German company’s sales fell back in the second part of the year because of an emissions scandal known to all as Dieselgate.
Although it was the number one carmaker in the world, Toyota did report a sales drop of 0.8 percent last year compared to 2014 results. Back in 2014, Toyota had sold 10.23 million vehicles, while Volkswagen AG sold 10.14 million units.
If the German company had managed to sell as many cars in 2015 as they did in 2014, the battle with Toyota could have had a different outcome. GM’s results were not as good in 2014, the American corporation registering 9.92 million vehicles sold.
However, there was a time when General Motors was the leading carmaker in the world. The American firm held the title for more than seven decades.
GM lost its sales crown to Toyota in 2008. The American company retook the global sales lead for one year, in 2011, when Japan was hit by a tsunami and an earthquake that severely disrupted production.
Industry analysts estimate Toyota’s sales drive to last for a few more years, as Volkswagen will need some time to regain customer trust and recover from the image blow brought by the Dieselgate scandal. According to Bloomberg, the gap between Toyota and Volkswagen could grow in the coming years as the German company adjusts itself.
On the other hand, Toyota is thinking of improving its results in emerging markets. The company could buy the rest of the Daihatsu brand to achieve this goal.
Meanwhile, the company’s hybrid range has just received the new generation of its forefront, the Toyota Prius. This model should bring more customers in 2016.
For the future, Toyota has already unleashed the world’s first mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the Mirai. While it may not bring massive sales, it is proving that a company can produce affordable hydrogen-powered cars for the mass public, just like it did in the late 1990s with its first hybrid vehicles.
Toyota was surpassed in the first half of 2015 by Volkswagen, but the German company’s sales fell back in the second part of the year because of an emissions scandal known to all as Dieselgate.
Although it was the number one carmaker in the world, Toyota did report a sales drop of 0.8 percent last year compared to 2014 results. Back in 2014, Toyota had sold 10.23 million vehicles, while Volkswagen AG sold 10.14 million units.
If the German company had managed to sell as many cars in 2015 as they did in 2014, the battle with Toyota could have had a different outcome. GM’s results were not as good in 2014, the American corporation registering 9.92 million vehicles sold.
However, there was a time when General Motors was the leading carmaker in the world. The American firm held the title for more than seven decades.
GM lost its sales crown to Toyota in 2008. The American company retook the global sales lead for one year, in 2011, when Japan was hit by a tsunami and an earthquake that severely disrupted production.
Industry analysts estimate Toyota’s sales drive to last for a few more years, as Volkswagen will need some time to regain customer trust and recover from the image blow brought by the Dieselgate scandal. According to Bloomberg, the gap between Toyota and Volkswagen could grow in the coming years as the German company adjusts itself.
On the other hand, Toyota is thinking of improving its results in emerging markets. The company could buy the rest of the Daihatsu brand to achieve this goal.
Meanwhile, the company’s hybrid range has just received the new generation of its forefront, the Toyota Prius. This model should bring more customers in 2016.
For the future, Toyota has already unleashed the world’s first mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the Mirai. While it may not bring massive sales, it is proving that a company can produce affordable hydrogen-powered cars for the mass public, just like it did in the late 1990s with its first hybrid vehicles.