The Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal and slowdown in Chinese automobile market sees Toyota regain top spot as world’s largest car maker.
In the January to September period of the 2015 calendar year, Toyota has once again becomes the world’s largest car maker. Overtaking Volkswagen who was briefly at the top spot, Toyota sold 7.49 million units worldwide during the aforementioned period while VW sold 7.43 units worldwide during the same period. Not just that, the VW group also reported an operating loss of $3.84 billion in the quarter ending September against an operating profit of $ 3.5 billion in the same period last year.
That said, both companies faced a 1.5 per cent decline in sales on a Year-over-Year basis. Volkswagen had earlier this year overtaken Toyota to become the world’s largest car maker three months earlier. It was in the year 2008 when Toyota became the world’s number one car maker after ending General Motors’ 77 year old reign as the world’s biggest car maker.
And while the numbers seem quite close for Toyota and Volkswagen on the sales charts, it is unlikely that Volkswagen will be able to claw its way back to the top of the sales pile in the 2015 calendar year owing to its diesel emissions scandal. The EPA’s violation notice was effective of September 18, 2015 post which Volkswagen has been left shaken. The covering cost for its 11 million car recall was billed approximately at $7.4 billion.
The company is now readying process and means to ensure some 11 million of its diesel vehicles affected by the diesel emissions scandal be rectified. To that effect, sales of diesel vehicles from Volkswagen have come to a stop in some markets.
VW has also been affected on the sales front by the slowdown in the Chinese automobile market. Koji Endo, an auto analyst at Advanced Research Japan, is reported to have told Bloomberg, “Toyota will be the No. 1 for this year. VW may be facing sales difficulties due to the scandal toward next year in Europe and the U.S., and I don’t see the Chinese market coming back anytime soon.”
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