Toyota remained the largest automaker in the world
Toyota Motor has become the world's largest automaker for the fifth time in a row. At the end of 2024, the Japanese company sold 10.82 million cars, including Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino brands. The automaker shared the sales statistics on January 30.
Becoming the world's largest manufacturer did not prevent Toyota from falling sales by 3.7% year-on-year. Separately, sales of Toyota and Lexus brand vehicles fell by 1.4% over the year (to 10.16 million units). At the same time, sales of electrified cars of the concern Toyota for the year increased by 23.2% and amounted to 4.53 million units. As calculated by Reuters, the parent company's record share of 40.8% of sales was made up of hybrid cars. Pure electric cars accounted for only 1.4%.
The slump in Toyota's performance is explained by a sharp drop in sales in Japan, where the automaker has faced the consequences of problems related to certification testing procedures.
Second place in global sales in 2024 was taken by Volkswagen Group (about 9 million vehicles). Earlier this month, the company reported a 2.3% drop in sales last year, due to attempts to cut costs in the domestic market and fierce competition in its key market in China.
Toyota Motor set a new record for car sales in 2023. Back then, global sales of Toyota, Daihatsu and Hino vehicles rose 7.2% to 11.23 million units.
Earlier in the day it was reported that Sollers launched production of all-wheel drive pickup trucks Sollers ST6 and ST8 on a full-cycle technology at the industrial site UAZ in the Ulyanovsk region. Ulyanovsk-made pickup trucks will appear in dealerships in the first quarter of 2025.
