Toyota Becomes World's Top-selling Automobile Maker For Fourth Year In A Row

Toyota's standalone vehicle sales, encompassing both its namesake and Lexus brands, reached a record-breaking 10.3 million vehicles in 2023

Toyota managed to enhance production and generate profits from overseas markets in 2023

Source : Getty

Toyota Motor outpaced all other automakers in the sale of passenger vehicles in 2023 with a record 11.2 billion, surpassing Volkswagen AG to secure its position as the world's leading carmaker for the fourth consecutive year, the carmaker announced on Tuesday.

The company said that global sales, including subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd., experienced a 7.2 per cent increase from the previous year, reaching a record 11.2 million cars in 2023. The output surged by 8.6 per cent to 11.5 million units. On the other hand, earlier this month, the second-ranked German rival, Volkswagen Group, announced a 12 per cent increase in deliveries for the previous year, reaching 9.2 million cars. This achievement indicated a post-pandemic recovery as supply chain bottlenecks were alleviated.

Toyota's standalone vehicle sales, encompassing both its namesake and Lexus brands, reached a record-breaking 10.3 million vehicles in 2023. Approximately one-third of those vehicles were gasoline-electric hybrids, while battery-electric vehicles contributed less than 1 per cent.

Despite trailing in the global transition toward electric vehicles, Toyota managed to enhance production and generate profits from overseas markets in 2023, thanks to recovering supply chains and consistent demand in North America and Europe. Simultaneously, demand for hybrids remained robust in Japan and steady across most parts of the world.

Although the full-year figures for 2023 solidify Toyota's dominance, it was China's BYD that garnered significant attention last year by surpassing Elon Musk's Tesla as the world's leading electric car manufacturer. Shenzhen-based BYD, which is exclusively focused on selling electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, achieved sales of around 3.02 million units in 2023.

In contrast, Toyota sold 104,018 battery electric vehicles. Initially targeting sales of 202,000 units for the fiscal year ending in March, the Japanese automaker revised its goal to 123,000 in November, citing challenges related to demand and supply.