Toyota Crowned Top Selling Car Company of 2022

Toyota Motor Corp defends its title as the world’s top-selling automaker, selling over 10.5 million vehicles in 2022. This marks the third straight year for the company, retaining its lead over German automobile company Volkswagen. 

The Japanese car giant reported they were able to match their high number of sales the previous year, and even sold 5% more electric vehicles in comparison.  

"Despite the impact of production constraints caused by the spread of Covid-19, increased demand for semiconductors, and other factors, global sales were at the same level year-on-year as a result of solid demand centered around Asia," the company expressed. 

Meanwhile, Volkswagen bagged the top-selling automaker in 2020, experienced its lowest sales in the past decade. The company was reported to have sold only 8.3 million units in 2022, marking an annual drop of 7%.  

The growing market for electric vehicles 

Toyota, known for pioneering hybrid cars, has received backlash for not producing purely electric-powered vehicles. As a way of addressing this, the company aims to transform its old models into EVs by using a “conversion method” and replacing certain parts.  

However, this may not be enough for the company to meet the growing market. Lightstream Research analyst Mio Kato expressed that EV carmakers like China's BYD may be a potential threat to the leading car giant. This is because EV companies possess strong battery technology, experience and better branding with EVs which could give them leverage over the hybrid carmaker in the future.  

Despite this, Kato still believes Toyota will hold onto its crown in the near term. 

"In terms of the actual volumes, it will still be difficult for Volkswagen or General Motors to surpass Toyota easily because both are under more pressure in China with their internal combustion engine business," Kato shared.