Toyota Retains World’s Top-Selling Automaker Title (PDF)
Despite production constraints caused by COVID-19, Toyota outperformed all of its competitors in 2022 for the third consecutive year. The company said that global sales dropped 0.1% due to supply bottlenecks, chip shortages, and other different issues, but total sales exceeded 10.5 million vehicles, outpacing all other automakers.
In spite of a 9.6% decline in Japanese domestic vehicle sales, it was able to boost global production by five percent last year thanks to an increase in demand in Asia and an increased production capacity both in Asia and North America.
Germany’s Volkswagen Group came in second with 8.3 million vehicles, its lowest sales in a decade as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns in China and the war in Ukraine.
Nonetheless, robust vehicle sales pushed General Motors back into first place among U.S. vehicle sales after Toyota won the title for the first time since 1931 last year. In the U.S., GM sold 2.2 million units, outselling Toyota by nearly 200,000 units. GM’s best-selling vehicle was the Chevy Silverado truck, and Toyota’s RAV4 was the most popular choice among American drivers.
Due to the worst domestic sales numbers in more than a decade in 2022, despite healthy demand, GM’s reclaiming the top spot was particularly impressive. Over 13 million vehicles were sold last year, a decline of almost 9% from the year before, according to industry experts. However, supply chain issues slowed sales, which offset robust demand.
Both Volkswagen Group and Toyota have declared plans to create, manufacture and roll out a whole array of electric and electrified vehicles; however, publicly, VW is demonstrating a more vigorous approach towards the shift than Toyota. VW has laid out an assertive plan to present 75 purely electric autos by 2029 as well as sell roughly 60 hybrids alongside its EVs. In contrast, the Japanese auto giant has been called out for its hesitance to plunge actively into battery-powered pumps, instead investing in various technologies such as battery-based EVs, hybrid technology, hydrogen-powered vehicles, and conventional combustion cars.
