Toyota on track to clinch top global sales ranking again  

Toyota could well be on its way to becoming the world’s top brand in terms of sales once again for 2022, potentially the third straight year it will achieve the feat. 

Toyota looks poised to become the world's top-selling automaker for the third straight year

A report by Nikkei Asia cites Toyota as saying that it sold 9.56 million vehicles globally from January to November 2022, which already matches its full-year sales in 2021. This is 2.14 million units more than German automaker Volkswagen has managed so far, whose sales figures fell nine percent in the last 11 months. 

While Toyota’s cumulative figures include proceeds from group automakers Daihatsu Motor and Hino Motors, the company also looks likely to trounce its German rival even without help from its subsidiaries.

Despite a global semiconductor shortage affecting production in Asia, Toyota managed a strong showing with a growth of two percent in the Chinese market, driven by especially strong sales of the Corolla and Camry. For the ASEAN region, SUVs helped Toyota conquer the market, logging double-digit growth in Indonesia and Thailand. 

The automaker's position in China has been boosted by sales of the Corolla and Camry

In contrast, Volkswagen struggled in Asia as it saw sales plummet by six percent in China, even as it recorded an increase by the same figure for the rest of the Asia-Pacific region. Part of this was caused by recent COVID lockdowns in China that disrupted parts supplies and maritime shipping, even affecting production at Volkswagen’s main facility in Wolfsburg, Germany. 

One factor contributing to Toyota’s performance is that China accounts for only 20 percent of its new car sales, compared to 40 percent for Volkswagen. The Japanese automaker’s smaller scale of business in the mainland likely helped limit the impact of lockdowns and supply shortages. 

Volkswagen is still way ahead of Toyota in terms of EV sales 

In contrast, Toyota faced challenges in both North America and Japan, posting a drop of 10 percent each in sales as chip supply issues limited the release of high-performance models. Volkswagen sales fell by seven percent in its home market of western Europe. 

Where Volkswagen has Toyota beat is in electric vehicles (EVs), selling 360,000 units from January to September 2022, an increase of 25 percent from the previous year. Meanwhile, Toyota only managed to sell less than 20,000 EVs, and has had to issue a recall for the bZ4X, its first mass-produced electric model.    

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