The world’s leading auto manufacturer, Toyota Motor Corp. has managed to retain its position as the world’s bestselling car company during the first three months of the current year. Toyota remains the global leader despite the tough competition that it gets from the rival auto giants Volkswagen and General Motors (GM), and its sales decline in the Chinese car market and the domestic market of Japan.
On 24th of April 2013, Toyota reported that it has recorded the sale of 2.43 million units during the first quarter of the year. With this sales rate Toyota has surpassed the American automaker General Motors Co. with the sales of 2.36 million units and the German auto major Volkswagen AG with sales of 2.27 million units. However, Toyota’s sales during the first quarter had declined by 2.2 percent compared to 2012, while the sales rates of GM increased by 3.6 percent and Volkswagen’s shot up by 5.1 percent.
Toyota had reinstated itself as the No. 1 auto manufacturing company in 2012, after the defeat from General Motors in the previous year, due to the massive disorder in Japan after it was hit by natural calamities of tsunami and earthquake.
On the other hand, General Motors had remained the undisputed top auto maker for several decades before losing the crown to Toyota back in 2008.
Toyota is facing a lot of difficulties in China as well as in the home ground of Japan. Toyota’s falling sales in China is accounted to the anti-Japanese sentiment that rose over a territorial fight between the two nations over some small islands. The Japanese auto giant says the situation is slowly getting better but to regain its previous position in the Chinese market will definitely take a long time.
On the other hand, the removal of subsidies for eco-friendly cars in Japan has resulted in declined sales for Toyota. The subsidies had previously helped in boosting the company’s popular hybrid car sales.
While the Japanese auto maker suffered sales decline in the world’s greatest car market of China and its domestic Japanese market, it counterbalanced the slump with the rising sales in the North American car market, where sales jumped by 7 percent. Moreover, Toyota gained favorable sales rates in many Asian countries as well.
Toyota’s fall in the world’s greatest car market of China remains a matter of concern for the Japanese company, as its rivals GM and Volkswagen are both taking advantage of this fact and fast gaining control over the Chinese market.
Toyota is presently trying very hard to gain back the confidence of the Chinese audience and has recently unveiled a slew of new compact low cost models at the ongoing Shanghai auto show, that are meant only for the Chinese car market.
Toyota spokeswoman, Shino Yamada had commented on Toyota’s endeavor by saying that the company concentrates on selling its quality products one at a time rather than chasing numbers. She added by saying that Toyota is not focused on being world’s No. 1.
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