Volkswagen beats Toyota to become world's biggest carmaker

Volkswagen edges past Toyota in global sales in 2016.  

Volkswagen has pipped Toyota to become the world’s biggest car manufacturer in terms of overall new vehicle sales in 2016. The German car manufacturer, along with its subsidiaries, managed to post a positive growth in 2016 despite being caught amidst the diesel emissions debacle.

Toyota had been reigning at the top of the sales chart between 2012 and 2015. This is the first time Volkswagen has managed to edge past the Japanese auto giant and secure the top spot. The difference in sales between the two automakers, however, is roughly 100,000 units for last year. Volkswagen Group – including the likes of Porsche, Audi and Skoda among others – sold 10.3 million units globally as against Toyota, which managed to sell just under 10.2 million vehicles in 2016.

Volkswagen group recorded an overall growth of 3.8 per cent in 2016 as against 2015. A majority of the sales this year too came from its biggest market, China, where the VW group registered 12 per cent growth. Volkswagen's sales in China were majorly driven by the success of Audi and Porsche brands, and also down to the fact that the group sells fewer diesel vehicles in China. As a result, the sales weren’t affected all that much in the region post the diesel emissions scam. That said, the aftereffects of the emissions scam were clearly evident in 2016 in the US – VW group sales were down by 2.6 per cent in the States. In comparison, Toyota’s global sales grew up only by 0.2 per cent last year, while its sales in the US also suffered a slowdown.

General Motors is expected to reveal its sales figures in a few days, although it’s expected to retain the third spot behind Volkswagen and Toyota like in 2015.

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