Toyota world's top carmaker
January 21, 2015
Toyota announced Wednesday that its global group sales had reached 10.23 million vehicles in 2014 - an increase of 3 percent from a year earlier. Sales of the Japanese car group, which includes Daihatsu and Hino Motors, grew most significantly in China, up 13 percent, and in Brazil, where it sold 10 percent more cars
Toyota's record worldwide annual sales figure beat Volkswagen, which logged sales of 10.14 million vehicles, and General Motors (GM), which said it sold 9.92 million cars last year.
In 2008, Toyota broke GM's decades-long reign as world's top automaker, but lost the crown three years later as an earthquake and tsunami in Japan hit production and disrupted the supply chains of the country's automakers. However, in 2012 it once again overtook its Detroit rival.
Outlook clouding
But Toyota also said sales would decline 1 percent this year to an expected 10.15 million vehicles, due mainly to sluggish demand in its home market following a sales tax hike. That will likely mean Toyota will trail behind Volkswagen this year, as the German automaker rides momentum in emerging economies that could see it take the lead in global auto sales for the first time.
Toyota's 2014 figures came as the carmaker struggles to recover from the recall of millions of cars around the world for safety problems, including exploding airbags. Moreover, the company has decided to stop building new plants until 2016, saying it wants to improve the quality of its sales rather than volume.
Among the moves, Toyota is pushing further into the fast-growing market for environmentally friendly cars, especially in China where officials are struggling to contain air pollution. The company announced plans to develop components for hybrid vehicles with two Chinese automakers in an unprecedented technology-sharing deal aimed at increasing green car sales in the world's biggest vehicle market.
In terms of finances, the carmaker boosted its profit forecast for the current fiscal year ending March, expecting net income to rise to 2.0 trillion yen ($16.97 billion, 14.7 billion euros). It also said revenue would come in at 26.5 trillion yen.
uhe/sgb (dpa, AFP, AP)