Toyota overtakes Volkswagen to be No.1 automaker in the world in 2020

After five years of being placed behind the Volkswagen Group, Toyota Motor Corp has managed to reclaim its place as the world’s best-selling automaker in 2020. This comes after the Japanese giant released its global sales figures.

While Toyota had every right to celebrate its comeback podium finish, global sales for the group which also includes sales figures from Daihatsu and Hino fell 11.3% to 9.528 million vehicles compared to 2019.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen Group, which includes Audi, Skoda, and Porsche, saw 9.305 million vehicles sold in 2020, a drop of 15.2%.

Toyota overtook General Motors back in 2013 to become the best-selling automaker but the battle switched from a Japan vs USA fight to a Japan vs Germany one when Volkswagen rose ahead of the General in 2015.

In 2016, Volkswagen Group took over the crown from Toyota officially and held on the title ever since.

One reason for Toyota selling more vehicles than Volkswagen was its focus on the Japanese and Asian markets which had generally weathered the pandemic better than in Europe and the United States.

In 2020, Toyota launched a few models such as the Corolla Cross and the TNGA-based Yaris which were mainly targeted for that region.

Despite the losses incurred in sales, Volkswagen Group has announced that the company had made $12 billion in profit in 2020. According to CNN, a slight uptick in its global passenger market share and a huge jump in purchases of its electric and hybrid models are cited as reasons for the profit.

On the other hand, Toyota hasn’t released its full-year financial results for 2020.