Toyota Regains Global Sales Lead from Volkswagen
Earlier this year, German automaker Volkswagen declared itself the biggest automaker in the world, stealing the title from long-time holder Toyota. Unfortunately for Volkswagen, a scandal of epic proportions involving its not-so-clean diesel vehicles soured consumers’ opinions, and now Toyota is back to claim its rightful crown.
Today, Toyota announced year-to-date sales of 7.49 million vehicles worldwide, compared to Volkswagen’s 7.43 million. These numbers take into account two weeks of sales following VW’s dieselgate scandal, at which time sales of its diesel-powered vehicles were halted. Additionally, the automaker will need to repair around 11 million vehicles worldwide to bring them in line with current emissions regulations. As a result, Toyota will more than likely keep its lead to be the global sales leader for 2015.
Toyota plans to keep the momentum going, with the recent release of the redesigned Tacoma mid-size truck, and next year’s release of the fourth-generation Prius hybrid. While VW diesel drivers will likely lose efficiency once their vehicles have been fixed, drivers of the 2016 Prius will enjoy a 10% increase in fuel efficiency over the previous generation, which will be around 55mpg.
“Toyota will be the No. 1 for this year,” Koji Endo, an auto analyst at Advanced Research Japan, told Bloomberg. “VW may be facing sales difficulties due to the scandal toward next year in Europe and the U.S., and I don’t see the Chinese market coming back anytime soon.”
News Source: Bloomberg
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