Volkswagen Edges Out Toyota as World's #1 in Sales

Toyota maybe the number one brand in the Philippines in terms of sales, but this isn’t the case worldwide, at least for 2016. After four consecutive years as the world’s bestselling carmaker, Toyota ended up relinquishing the crown to German marque Volkswagen, who takes the spot as the world’s largest car manufacturer for the first time.

VW’s global sales for last year stands at 10.3 million units, up 3.8 from 2015’s 9.93 million sales. Meanwhile, the Toyota Group—which includes Daihatsu, Lexus and Hino Motors—reported a 10.17 million total output, up 0.2 percent from the previous year. The German conglomerate outsold its Japanese counterpart by approximately 100,000 units.

The Volkswagen Group portfolio

The Volkswagen Group consists of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Audi, Porsche, Skoda, Seat, and MAN and Scania trucks. VPCs were the biggest contributor to the global total, selling just under six million units and marking a 2.8 percent increase from a year earlier. Audi was the second bestselling brand under the VW wing, growing 3.8 percent with 1.87 million units. Czech brand Skoda came in a surprising third, seeing a sizeable 6.8 percent jump to 1.12 million.

MAN was the only brand to show a dip in sales, as the truck brand posted a 0.2 percent drop to 102,200 units. Scania saw a 5.5 percent rise to 80,800 units.

VW saw its biggest profit growth in the Chinese market with a 12.2 percent hike. Central and Eastern Europe followed at 7.0 percent. Western European and North American markets saw 3.4 percent and 0.8 percent growth, respectively. South America was the only region where the company's numbers fell, sliding an astounding 24.6 percent.

Falling to 2nd place

Toyota dropped out of the top spot for the first time since 2011. That was the year the Japanese manufacturer’s supply chains felt major disruption due to the powerful earthquake that devastated their home country, along with the resulting tsunami that ravaged the north-eastern area. For 2016, Toyota’s sales numbers outside Japan fell 0.5 percent to 7.94 million compared to the year prior. The brand saw the biggest reduction in its exports to North America, which is its largest market.

When asked about its opinion regarding the VW win, Toyota released this statement:

"At Toyota, we are not focused on chasing volume. We believe that our sales volume is just the result of our focus on making ever-better cars and providing better customer experiences. Our goal is to be No.1 with consumers by engineering and producing ever-better cars. We are grateful to every customer who has chosen a Toyota vehicle."

VW wins despite ‘Dieselgate’

The stellar sales figures come as a relief for Europe’s biggest carmaker, which is still reeling from the effects of the diesel emissions scandal it found itself in. In September 2015, VW admitted to installing devices that manipulated pollution test results on about 11 million diesel models sold around the world. The scandal cost the brand billions in euros and led to criminal charges for six of its U.S. senior executives.

The VW brand also faces damage claims from investors amounting to 8.8 billion euros. Mass recalls and compensation with customers are also on the table.