Toyota overtakes VW to regain lead in vehicle sales

So, just three months after claiming the top spot it had envisioned for years and having lost both the chairman (to the first scandal) and its CEO (to the second), the fallout from the dieselgate scandal is already bearing its mark – with global auto sales recaptured by Toyota, Japan’s largest company.

The carmaker may lead the race as Volkswagen which was leading the race for the first six month is likely to face a sharp drop in vehicle sales in the next three months post the emission scandal which was revealed last month. Although sales haven’t tanked for VW a month into the diesel scandal, few see the German automaker as able to outpace Toyota in the near future.

Toyota sold 7.49 million vehicles through September, topping the 7.43 million Volkswagen reported earlier this month.

After the first sixth months of the year, Volkswagen had achieved that goal, outselling Toyota by 5.04 million to 5.02 million.

“Toyota will be the No. 1 for this year”, Koji Endo, an auto analyst at Advanced Research Japan, said by phone.

Diesel models accounted for 20% of Volkswagen’s USA sales coming into September, and about half of its sales in Europe and other markets.

Now, the fourth quarter reflects a crucial test for Volkswagen, which is facing numerous investigations and a hail of criticism over its installation of manipulative software on 11 million vehicles to cheat emissions tests.

Toyota intends to hire about 1,400 more workers to speed up production. It is getting ready to deliver a redesigned Prius as well as an improved Land Cruiser, which might make it harder for Volkswagen to get back on top.