Toyota remains global top selling automaker

Toyota remains the top automaker in global vehicle sales after the first quarter in 2015 with 2.52 million vehicles sold despite weakening demand for the brand at the domestic market back home. The race among the three automakers is intense, playing out worldwide, including relatively new markets like India and China.

The automaker has been the world’ top-selling automaker for the past three years. Figures released penultimate week and made available to our reporter in Mauritius last Monday shows the Volkswagen group retaining its number two spot with 2.49 million vehicles sold from January to March period this year.

The brand has reported first-quarter sales of 2.52 million vehicles globally, outpacing Volkswagen AG and General Motors of America, Toyota’s numbers, down 2.5 percent from a year ago; come after Volkswagen earlier said it had moved 2.49 million vehicles in the quarter, while GM shifted 2.4 million units, both up from a year earlier.

It expects sales this year to slip to 10.15 million from a record 10.23 million vehicles in 2014, owing to a shaky outlook for Japan, concerns about a China slowdown and as it beefs up its focus on quality after a string of safety scandals. That means Volkswagen could shift into pole position this year as the German automaker rides momentum in emerging economies that could see it take the lead in global vehicle sales for the first time ever. Recall that in 2008, Toyota broke GM’s decades-long reign as the world’s top carmaker but lost the crown three years later as Japan’s 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster hammered production and disrupted the supply chains of the country’s car companies.

Toyota began operating a new Thai plant in 2013, but since then, it has halted investment as the global car market struggled with oversupply and weak demand. Despite the expansion, Toyota chief Akio Toyoda said his family firm would not embark on unrestrained expansion, as it overhauls its production methods to slash development costs.

While the car giant is set to log a record $18 billion fiscal year profit next month, largely due to a weak yen and strong North American sales, Toyoda said the company must do more to protect its bottom line in a fast-changing market. “An increase in production does not mean an undisciplined pursuit of more,” he said.

Toyota, among other major carmakers, has been struggling to recover a reputation for safety after the recall of millions of cars around the world for various problems, including an exploding air bag crisis at supplier Takata. There are also growing fears about the entire industry’s prospects in China owing to concerns about the health of the world’s number-two economy.

MIKE OCHONMA