Camry, Land Cruiser maker Toyota cements dominance as world’s No 1 seller for fourth year
- The Japanese carmaker’s global sales, including those of subsidiaries Daihatsu and Hino, rose 7.2 per cent year on year to a record 11.2 million cars in 2023
- Toyota lagged in sales of electric cars, delivering only 104,018 units versus some 3.02 million by China’s BYD and 1.81 million by Tesla
Toyota Motor sold more passenger vehicles than anybody in 2023, cruising past Volkswagen to become the world’s top carmaker for a fourth consecutive year.
Global sales, including those of subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor and Hino Motors, rose 7.2 per cent from the previous year to a record 11.2 million cars in 2023, the company said Tuesday.
Output, which refers to cars off the production line, grew 8.6 per cent to 11.5 million units. VW’s deliveries increased 12 per cent to 9.24 million units in 2023.
“Toyota has gone from struggling with supply chains last summer to selling whatever it makes,” Bloomberg Intelligence senior auto analyst Tatsuo Yoshida said.
Despite falling further behind in the global shift towards electric vehicles (EV), recovering supply chains and steady demand in North America and Europe last year helped Toyota boost production and rake in profits from abroad. Demand for hybrids at home meanwhile remains high and steady across most of the world.
While 2023’s full-year figures cement Toyota’s dominance, it was China’s BYD that arguably generated the most buzz last year when it surpassed Elon Musk’s Tesla as the world’s top maker of electric cars. Shenzhen-based BYD, which only sells EVs and plug-in hybrids, sold around 3.02 million units in 2023.
