VW could become biggest-selling carmaker in the world

Posted on April 22nd, 2009 by Patrick Westbrook | Posted under: Industry news, Toyota, Volkswagen

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VW Bus In 2008 Toyota outsold every other manufacturer and was The biggest carmaker. 2009 could see changes in the number one position as Volkswagen is gaining control of weak markets like Russia, while Toyota sales are falling dramatically everywhere.

Especially in its home market and North America, where they have been selling like “crazy” in the past years.

“Volkswagen is a big competitor for Toyota,” said Koji Endo, auto analyst at Credit Suisse in Tokyo. “Audi is strong, Volkswagen is strong, and they’re making good use of their small cars.”

Last year in Q1 Volkswagen Group delivered 1.57 million vehicles, while Toyota delivered 2.41 million vehicles.

This year Toyota’s U.S. sales fell 36 percent and sales in Japan fell 3 percent. These two markets account for almost half of their global sales. Global sales are down 47 percent for Toyota compared to last year. First quarter sales are estimated around 1.23 million vehicles.

Volkswagen sales are also dropping, but not as much. Their global sales are down 11 percent to around 1.39 million vehicles. Market share has increased from 9 percent to 11 percent.

It looks like Volkswagen is becoming world’s top-selling carmaker in the first quarter. As both companies are launching new products this year, it is hard to predict who will be the number one for the entire year.

Source: Reuters