Volkswagen sold more vehicles than Toyota in first half

The difference in sales between VW and Toyota is only 20,000 and analysts point out that the order of top global carmakers could change once full-year figures have been tallied up. Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday, July 28, 2015 it sold 5.02 million vehicles in the first six months of this year, down 1.5 percent from the same period the previous year, as sales struggled especially in the languishing Japanese market. VW AG took advantage of the recovering vehicle demand in Europe where the turnaround has accelerated at its swiftest pace in more than half a decade, which managed to nearly surpass the blow delivered by sliding sales in China, the group’s largest market.

Until now, Toyota has defended the No. 1 spot in the race for the world’s biggest automaker, a title the Tokyo-based company has held since 2012, when it overtook the US’s General Motors.

GM regained the top spot in 2011, when Toyota’s production was hurt by the quake and tsunami in northeastern Japan.

Toyota bucked the market trend with a 42 percent gain during the month and boosted sales during the first half by 10 percent to 512,800 vehicles.

The carmaker, which also owns the Audi and Porsche brands, described its performance so far this year as “satisfactory” in a hard environment. But it has said it’s expecting to sell fewer trucks and cars this year, forecasting sales will fall 1 percent year-on-year to 10.15 million vehicles. The automaker has recalled millions of vehicles globally on fears Takata airbags installed may explode and send shrapnel flying at drivers and passengers. Toyota, Japan’s biggest automaker, forecast global sales of 8.9 million cars for the fiscal year ending March 2016 in a statement. But the industry crown is coveted and significant.