It is by far the most dominant automotive brand in Australia, and it’s just been confirmed that it was the biggest selling manufacturer globally last year.
I am of course talking about Toyota Motor Corporation.
The Japanese giant recorded sales of 10,483,024 units in 2022 which represented a -0.1 per cent dip over its 2021 tally. This total incorporates sales from TMC brands including Toyota, Daihatsu and commercial vehicle specialist Hino, but does not include luxury arm, Lexus, which recorded a little over 760,000 sales in 2021.
Toyota acknowledged the impact production delays caused by COVID-19, increased demand for semiconductors, and other factors, in its 2022 results, and said it will try to minimise these impacts in the coming year.
“The situation remains difficult to predict due to semiconductor shortages and COVID-19. However, we will continue to carefully monitor the parts supply situation and minimize sudden decreases in production as much as possible while making every effort to deliver as many vehicles to our customers at the earliest date,” the company said in a release.
Following Toyota was German giant Volkswagen Group, which recorded global sales of 8.3 million units – a 7.0 per cent decline on 2021 sales.
VW Group includes brands such as Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat, Cupra, Bentley, Lamborghini and more.
VW says supply constraints and production stops were to blame for its slower year, but it was talking up its electric vehicle sales. Of that 8.3 million cars it sold, 572,100 were battery electric vehicles, ensuring VW Group was the top-selling EV manufacturer in Europe last year.
The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance sold a combined total of 7.1 million vehicles last year, with Nissan’s total (4.1m) down by a tick over 20 per cent year on year. Renault’s haul (2.0m) represented a 5.9 per cent dip and Mitsubishi’s (1.0m) was 5.5 per cent off last year.
Korean conglomerate Hyundai Motors which includes Hyundai, Kia and Genesis, hit 6.8 million sales in 2022, which was up approximately 2.7 per cent on its 2021 haul.
China’s biggest manufacturer, and parent company to the likes of MG, LDV and more – SAIC Motors – ended 2022 with 5.3 million sales, about a 3.0 per cent drop on its 2021 tally.
Almost all of the companies put sales declines down to the difficulties stemming from COVID-19 and global instability.
A number of major carmaking groups are yet to announce their 2022 calendar year sales results, including Stellantis, which has brands like Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, Citroen, Opel and more under its umbrella. Ford and General Motors are also yet to report their results.
Keyword: Which carmaker sold the most cars globally in 2022?