The Japanese Toyota group has defended its top spot in global sales and kept its rival Volkswagen at a distance. Despite the semiconductor supply shortages and other consequences of the pandemic, Toyota kept its production at high levels in 2021.
As the company announced on Friday, the group, which also includes the small car specialist Daihatsu and the commercial vehicle manufacturer Hino Motors, sold 10.5 million vehicles last year. That is an increase of 10.1 percent over the previous year, when Toyota took back the crown from VW. Before that, VW was the front runner for five years.
Last year, VW had to accept a drop in sales of 4.5 percent to 8.88 million vehicles. The chip crisis and other supplier problems caused sales to slip noticeably once more in the second year of Corona.
