autoevolution's toyota month

Toyota rocks. And that's not some personal opinion - it’s all in the numbers. Take a good long look at them below, and the enormity of it all is instantly revealed: the Japanese are ruling the auto world.

It’s been ages since anyone seriously challenged Toyota. Sure, Volkswagen is trying to be put up a fight by throwing in the full might of its gazillion nameplates: VW, Audi, SEAT, Skoda, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche. And that’s before counting the commercial vehicle and truck divisions.

Yet Toyota seems to easily fend off the Germans with a significantly less pompous portfolio of brands: Toyota and Lexus. Sure, it has others, like Daihatsu or Hino, but they don’t count for much in the grand scheme of things.

How big is Toyota? The biggest. In 2020, the carmaker sold over 9.5 million cars, compared to VW’s 9.3 million, making it the emperor of the world once more.

And the king of the States, one might add. Here’s why.

In America, Toyota presently sells eight passenger car models. One of them, the Camry, was the best-seller of its segment, for the 19th consecutive year. It sells two trucks, and one of them, the Tacoma, ranked first in the small pickup segment 16 consecutive times. It also offers seven SUVs and crossovers, with the RAV4 crowned leader for the fourth consecutive year.

And, the cherry on the cake, over 2.1 million of last year’s Toyota vehicles were sold in the U.S., making the carmaker the best-selling retail brand nine years in a row.

For some time now, autoevolution has been running month-long special coverages on various topics. Somehow, Toyota has escaped the scrutiny of our army of writers. Not anymore, as in March we’re going after the Japanese, pens and keyboards blazing, in what shall become known as Toyota Month.

Editor's note: This special feature by autoevolution was not sponsored or supported by a third-party.