Source: Gasgoo Author: Song Mingxuan
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According to Bloomberg,Toyota sold more passenger cars than any other automaker last year, once again surpassing Volkswagen Group and retaining its title as the world’s largest automaker for the fourth consecutive year.
Global sales, including subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd. reached a record 11.2 million vehicles last year, up 7.2 % from the same period in 2022, Toyota said on 30 January. Production, which refers to cars coming off the production line, also rose 8.6 % year-on-year to 11.5 million units. By comparison, Volkswagen’s deliveries are up 12 % to 9.24 million units in 2023.
Image source: Toyota
Tatsuo Yoshida, senior automotive analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said, “Toyota has moved on from the supply chain woes of last summer.”
Although Toyota fell further behind in the global transition to electrification, a recovery and steady demand in the North American and European supply chains last year helped Toyota boost production and profits overseas. Meanwhile, demand for hybrid vehicles remains high and stable in most parts of the world.
While Toyota solidified its position as the world’s No. 1 automaker in 2023, it was BYD that got the most attention. In the fourth quarter of last year, BYD overtook Tesla to become the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer. Shenzhen-based BYD, which sells only electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, sold about 3.02 million units last year. Tesla, on the other hand, delivered 1.81 million vehicles last year.
By comparison, Toyota sold 104,018 all-electric vehicles last year. Toyota initially aimed to sell 202,000 EVs in the fiscal year that ended in March, but lowered that target to 123,000 last November, citing demand and supply issues. Toyota CEO Tsutomu Sato has pledged that the company will sell 1.5 million battery-electric vehicles a year by 2026 and 3.5 million by 2030.
On 29 January, Toyota found in an internal investigation that its supplier, Toyota Industries Corp. had been manipulating test results to get vehicles certified. These new revelations further exacerbate a scandal that erupted last December, when Daihatsu, the Toyota-owned vehicle that sells and supplies popular light trucks, was found to have manipulated the results of crash-safety tests dating back to 1989.
Although the impact and financial burden of the manipulation is only beginning to be felt, Toyota said it will step in if Daihatsu has difficulty compensating its suppliers and business partners during the partial shutdown and recall of vehicles. Daihatsu was asked by Japan’s transport ministry to come up with countermeasures by mid-February to prevent similar incidents from happening again. Toyota also said it would announce a new structure, but did not specify exactly what it was referring to.
