Toyota still the best-selling brand globally; Hyundai makes significant gain

Toyota consolidated its best-seller spot with an outstanding 7.3m cars sold globally last year – widening the sales lead over Volkswagen to 2.78m, up from 1.86m.

It might be significant that Toyota’s hybrid models are a more palatable global alternative than Volkswagen’s early-adopter big bet on battery-electric powertrains.

Hyundai also performed spectacularly, jumping ahead of Nissan and Ford to become the global number four.

Hyundai’s big push into EVS seems to be paying off in a way that it isn’t yet for Volkswagen.

JATO ANALYSIS

“Toyota has a stronger presence in North America, while Volkswagen doesn’t, and Volkswagen suffered more from the drop of the European market, where Toyota isn’t as big a seller.”