Toyoya is World’s Biggest Automaker Again
Last year Toyota had lost the number one position to General Motors. But now it is set to reclaim the crown as the world’s largest automaker for 2012. Volkswagen and GM will be competing for second place.
Having sold 80 million trucks and cars for the first time, the auto industry is projected to pull off record global sales for 2012. The creditable performance by Japan and the US has offset the economic downturn in Europe. After rebounding from the tsunami that hit Japan in 2011, Toyota is ready to grab the top rank from GM. With their sales figures differing by below one percent, the fight for the second place between GM and Volkswagen will be a tough one.
Currently, in the really close three-horse race, the leading players are swirling around and inter-changing places rapidly. All three of them have gained from the strong US light-vehicle market that is moving towards a third consecutive profit-making year after the collapse of 2009 and the industry bailout. But next year, American sales are expected to increase again, matching the lengthiest string ever since the close of World War II. Due to the large size of the American market, when the US reaches double-digit growth, this drives the rest of the world.
In 2013, the automotive industry will be witnessing a tougher fight, with LMC forecasting that Volkswagen could increase its production capacity by 600,000 units next year, which will then correspond to that of Toyota and GM combined, and that a rebound in China will favor the German company’s prospects. Volkswagen claims by 2018 it will be the world sales leader. The battle is too fierce and analysts could come up with conflicting results based on how sales are counted. Some analysts for instance may exclude cars sold by GM’s Chinese partners and by Toyota’s two associates, Daihatsu and Hino.
Depending on the methods automakers employ to evaluate their own sales performance, Toyota with 7.4 million units is the front-runner in the first three quarters, as compared with 6.9 million units at VW, including Porsche AG, and 6.95 million units at GM.
Toyota continued to bounce back in the Japan markets and the U.S. through November 2012. Boosted by government incentives, auto sales in Japan have increased by 31 percent during the first 11 months. The leading US automaker, GM, has been strengthened by surging sales there, whereas VW sales figures have risen in China by 20 percent through November. Toyota had gained 29 percent in America through November and as per recent sales figures achieved a rise of 41 percent in Japan during October.
With its business restored to normal in Japan’s tsunami hit areas and its sales volume almost reaching pre-disaster levels, Toyota is taking the lead in global sales. One can’t say for sure if this year’s sales increase will be sustained, but the launch of mass volume car models like the Corolla could propel Toyota to a good position with respect to model lineup. Therefore, Toyota could dominate the global auto market in 2013.