Toyota Is The Biggest Car Maker Again

It's the fifth year in a row that Toyota has taken the top spot.

Photo by: Toyota

By: Adrian Padeanu

Updated: Jan 30, 2025 at 3:38am ET

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[UPDATE] The final numbers are now in. Toyota and Lexus sold a combined 10,159,336 cars in 2024, representing a 1.4% drop compared to the year before. Including the Daihatsu and Hino subsidiaries, deliveries reached 10,821,480 units, down by 3.7% versus 2023.

Toyota hasn't published full sales results for 2024, but it already has a reason to celebrate. Through November, it sold 9,857,938 vehicles globally. For clarity, the number also includes units sold by its Lexus, Daihatsu, and Hino subsidiaries. This week, the Volkswagen Group announced its complete sales results for the last 12 months, during which shipments fell by 2.3% to 9,239,500 cars and trucks.

Even without factoring in its December sales, which have yet to be reported, Toyota already has a significant advantage of 618,438 vehicles over the VW Group. For the fifth year in a row, the Japanese giant is the world's biggest automaker. That's despite a 3.6% decline in sales between January and November compared to the same period in 2023.

Although Toyota's electric vehicle efforts have had a rocky start, its huge range of combustion-engine cars has enabled the company to reach every corner of the world. From diminutive kei cars for Japan to full-size SUVs for America, we cannot think of a gap in Toyota's lineup. It has sedans, wagons, trucks, minivans, and even a few performance cars, although models like the GR86 and GR Supra are niche products and consequently don't move the needle.

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Once again, the VW Group failed to catch up despite having far more sub-brands under its vast corporate umbrella. The German automotive conglomerate also offers a broader array of plug-in hybrids and EVs, but that wasn't enough to dethrone Toyota.

The Hyundai Motor Group, which includes the main brand Hyundai together with Kia and Genesis, is likely to claim the last spot on the podium after registering 7.23 million sales in 2024, or 1 % less than the year before.