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Toyota on Wednesday kept the title of world’s biggest automaker for the fourth straight year after saying it sold 10.15 million vehicles globally in 2015, driving past Volkswagen and General Motors.
Dented by a pollution-cheating scandal, Volkswagen earlier logged sales of 9.93 million vehicles worldwide, while Chevrolet and Cadillac maker GM moved 9.8 million last year.
Toyota shares jumped 3.80% to end at 6,881 yen ($58) in Tokyo on Wednesday, boosted by reports it is in talks with Suzuki over a partnership to build compact cars for emerging markets, including India.
Strong North American demand drove Toyota’s figures as total sales slipped 0.8% from 2014, largely owing to a slowdown in Japan where a weak economy hit demand.
Toyota is also facing sluggish sales in Thailand and Indonesia while a Japanese consumption tax hike planned for next year could spark a rush in buying -- and subsequent slowdown as prices go up.
The Japanese giant was likely to keep the top automaker crown for at least another year, but a slowdown in top vehicle market China could hurt its numbers, analysts said.
“Toyota is benefiting from the strength of the US auto market, and we expect it to continue to grow this year, so the company should keep its crown,” said Yoshiaki Kawano, a Tokyo-based analyst at research firm IHS.
“But in China, Toyota lags behind VW or Nissan”.
Quality issues
Toyota broke GM’s decades-long reign as the world’s top automaker in 2008 but lost it three years later to the US firm, as Japan’s 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster dented production and disrupted the supply chains.
However, in 2012 it once again overtook its Detroit rival and has remained on top since.
On Wednesday, rival Nissan said its global sales hit a calendar-year record 5.42 million units. Including Nissan’s French partner Renault, the group’s 8.22 million combined sales put it in fourth place globally.
Toyota still top global automaker, sells 10.15 million in 2015 | autos$top | Hindustan Times
Dented by a pollution-cheating scandal, Volkswagen earlier logged sales of 9.93 million vehicles worldwide, while Chevrolet and Cadillac maker GM moved 9.8 million last year.
Toyota shares jumped 3.80% to end at 6,881 yen ($58) in Tokyo on Wednesday, boosted by reports it is in talks with Suzuki over a partnership to build compact cars for emerging markets, including India.
Strong North American demand drove Toyota’s figures as total sales slipped 0.8% from 2014, largely owing to a slowdown in Japan where a weak economy hit demand.
Toyota is also facing sluggish sales in Thailand and Indonesia while a Japanese consumption tax hike planned for next year could spark a rush in buying -- and subsequent slowdown as prices go up.
The Japanese giant was likely to keep the top automaker crown for at least another year, but a slowdown in top vehicle market China could hurt its numbers, analysts said.
“Toyota is benefiting from the strength of the US auto market, and we expect it to continue to grow this year, so the company should keep its crown,” said Yoshiaki Kawano, a Tokyo-based analyst at research firm IHS.
“But in China, Toyota lags behind VW or Nissan”.
Quality issues
Toyota broke GM’s decades-long reign as the world’s top automaker in 2008 but lost it three years later to the US firm, as Japan’s 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster dented production and disrupted the supply chains.
However, in 2012 it once again overtook its Detroit rival and has remained on top since.
On Wednesday, rival Nissan said its global sales hit a calendar-year record 5.42 million units. Including Nissan’s French partner Renault, the group’s 8.22 million combined sales put it in fourth place globally.
Toyota still top global automaker, sells 10.15 million in 2015 | autos$top | Hindustan Times
