Toyota Motor Corp. group retained its crown as the world's biggest automaker by sales volume for the fifth consecutive year in 2024, helped by robust sales of hybrid vehicles, according to Kyodo news.
The auto group, which includes minivehicle maker Daihatsu Motor Co. and truck manufacturer Hino Motors Ltd., sold 10.82 million units in 2024, down 3.7 percent from a year earlier, the company said.
Archrival Volkswagen AG of Germany sold 9.03 million cars in the year.
Toyota alone sold 10.16 million cars, down 1.4 percent after it was hit by a vehicle certification scandal in Japan, following which it briefly halted production of some models. Domestic sales fell 13.8 percent to 1.44 million units.
By region, the automaker's sales in North America saw a 4.3 percent rise to 2.73 million cars, while European sales logged a 3.6 percent increase to 1.17 million units amid brisk shipments of such models as the RAV4 and C-HR. Sales in China fell 6.9 percent to 1.78 million vehicles amid stiff price competition. Sales of hybrid vehicles rose 21.1 percent to 4.14 million vehicles, lifted by increasing demand in key markets such as North America and Europe amid a cooling boom for electric vehicles globally. The company's EV sales grew 34.5 percent to 139,892 units.
The group's global production fell 7.8 percent to 10.62 million vehicles, with Toyota's output falling 5.1 percent to 9.52 million cars.
The automaker halted production of some popular models, such as the Yaris Cross, following the scandal in which it admitted to not fully following government standards in vehicle testing.
