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Toyota poised to keep title as bestselling carmaker as global sales hit new peaks in November
- Global sales rose 12 per cent from a year earlier to 986,262 units, the most ever for the month of November
- The carmaker is pushing forward with ambitious plans to mass-produce electric vehicles and catch up with Tesla and China’s BYD
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Toyota is poised to keep its title as the world’s bestselling carmaker, beating Volkswagen for the fourth consecutive year after steady demand across North America and Europe helped sales and production reach new records in November.
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Global sales – including that of subsidiaries Hino Motors and Daihatsu – rose 12 per cent from a year earlier to 986,262 units, the most ever for the month of November, the company said on Wednesday. Worldwide production reached an all-time high of 1,067,446 units.
The world’s biggest carmaker has been making and selling an unprecedented number of automobiles throughout the year, further securing its dominance with hybrid cars as it pushes forward with ambitious plans to mass-produce electric vehicles and catch up with Elon Musk’s Tesla and China’s BYD.
Last week, Toyota was dragged into a growing scandal after an investigation found that Daihatsu had manipulated collision safety data dating as far back as 1989. Daihatsu will suspend operations through January and compensate its partners for the losses they incur, it said this week.
Toyota suffered a different scandal last year with its other major subsidiary, Hino, over falsified emissions data.
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It is not clear yet how much the latest scandal will cost, in terms of output, money and customer trust. Daihatsu supplies cars and parts to Mazda, Subaru and a number of other major brands.
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