We thought nothing could shake a good Toyota student. However, as we reported to you on Auto Plus, three of its subsidiaries have been affected by scandals that directly affect the Japanese manufacturer.
The brand has also been forced to halt deliveries of several of its diesel models worldwide while waiting for things to return to normal.
Toyota is still far ahead of the competition
To get people to “forget” about this poor communication campaign, Toyota has just released its 2023 numbers, and unsurprisingly, they’re different from retained the status of a world leader, significantly ahead of competitors. The Japanese manufacturer announced the achievement of a new sales record 11.2 million cars in 2023, thereby strengthening its position as the world leader in terms of volume. This growth is due in part to increased sales of hybrid vehicles and the resolution of the semiconductor shortage problem that previously affected production.
Although Toyota maintains its status as the world leader from 2020, the Volkswagen Group regained second place in 2023 with 9.24 million vehicles sold. Hyundai-Kia maintains the third position with 7.3 million units sold. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Motors alliance, despite growing by 4%, is well behind Toyota with 6.4 million vehicles sold in 2023.
A leadership position that won’t last forever?
Despite the fact that Toyota is the leader in the production of hybrid cars, lags behind in the 100% electric segment. In 2023, the brand sold just 104,018 electric vehicles, far behind rivals like Tesla and BYD. Toyota plans to sell 1.5 million electric cars a year by 2026, but that goal is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve given the still very small 100% electric range and the very difficult launch of the bZ4X SUV.
That doesn’t stop Toyota from being ambitious, particularly with the bZ3 sedan in China or the upcoming electric compact SUV that will arrive in Europe in 2025.
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Source: Auto Plus
Robert is an experienced journalist who has been covering the automobile industry for over a decade. He has a deep understanding of the latest technologies and trends in the industry and is known for his thorough and in-depth reporting.