Toyota has once again claimed the title of largest automotive manufacturer, but this time, it was unable to set a new sales record.
The Japanese automaker sold over 10.8 million vehicles globally in 2024, a figure that includes not only Toyota models but also those from the Daihatsu, Hino, and Lexus brands.
Although Toyota’s sales were sufficient to maintain its status as the world’s largest manufacturer, ahead of Volkswagen, which sold just over 9 million vehicles last year (-2.3% compared to 2023), Toyota’s global sales fell for the first time in two years by 3.7%, compared to the 11.2 million vehicles sold in 2023, a record figure.
Sales of the Toyota and Lexus brands decreased by 1.4% compared to 2023, to around 10.1 million units, while sales abroad for the Japanese brand helped prevent a larger decline, benefiting from demand in North America and India.
In other key markets, such as China (-6.9%), Indonesia (-9.5%), and Thailand (-17.1%), Toyota stated that “the shift to new energy vehicles” and “increased price competition” were responsible for the decline in total sales.
Note also that hybrid vehicles accounted for a record share of 40% in 2024, while Toyota’s electric vehicle sales lagged far behind its rivals. In 2024, Toyota, including Lexus, sold only 139,892 fully electric models, representing just 1.4% of sales.
To put this into perspective, VW sold about 745,000 fully electric vehicles last year, which is approximately 8% of sales, marking a decrease of 3.4% compared to the 771,100 electric vehicles delivered in 2023.
While the two global sales leaders in the automotive sector continue to lag in the transition to electric mobility, other brands, such as BYD and Hyundai, are now emerging as true global threats.
The Chinese company BYD surpassed Nissan and Honda in sales for the first time last year, selling over 4.25 million passenger vehicles, a 41% increase from around 3 million in 2023.
On its part, Hyundai Motor Group, the third largest automotive manufacturer in the world by global sales, sold over 7.2 million vehicles in 2024, and in terms of electric vehicles, the Hyundai and Kia brands sold more than 200,000 fully electric vehicles worldwide last year.
