Volkswagen may have become the world’s top selling automaker in the first quarter of 2009, ahead of Toyota, according to a media report on Friday.
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Partial company data suggested that VW had enjoyed robust demand in its main markets, while its Japanese rival suffered sharp declines, Reuters reported.
VW, with nine car and truck brands, had previously targeted overtaking both Toyota and General Motors by 2018 – a target that was initially met with scepticism, the news agency noted.
But the deepening recession and credit crisis have recently crippled demand in Toyota’s top markets, with US sales falling 38% and Japan sliding 24% in the first quarter.
Volkswagen is also gaining from government stimulus plans that have boosted sales in China, Germany and Brazil, which together accounted for 44% of group sales last year, making it more likely that it beat Toyota or at least came close, Reuters said.
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By GlobalDataIn the first quarter of last year, the VW group delivered 1.57m vehicles worldwide, a third less than Toyota’s 2.41m, which included sales by minivehicle unit Daihatsu and truckmaker Hino.
According to the report, Toyota (expected to report a rare loss for fiscal year 2008/9 soon) has given no forecast for retail sales, but its latest estimate for shipments for Q1 2009 was down 47% year on year to 1.23m vehicles.
Its US sales fell 36% in Q1 while sales in Japan for the core Toyota brand plummeted 31%. The two markets account for just under half of Toyota’s global sales, Reuters said.
Volkswagen last January projected a 10% decline in its global sales for 2009 but the sharp reversal in trends in Germany (where a EUR2,500 scrappage scheme boosted March sales 40%) and China could alter that outcome.
“Volkswagen is a big competitor for Toyota,” Credit Suisse Tokyo auto analyst Koji Endo told the news agency. “Audi is strong, Volkswagen is strong, and they’re making good use of their small cars.”
The report quoted the ranking could easily change in subsequent quarters as Toyota has various new models waiting in the wings.
Sales of its third-generation Prius hybrid start next month and are expected get a boost as more countries offer consumers incentives to buy energy-efficient cars. It will also launch 16 new models in Europe this year following a product drought in 2008 – a new TV ad now airing here in Britain showcases the new UK-built Avensis, redesigned Turkish-built Verso and the imported iQ city car and Urban Cruiser models along with the automaker’s ‘Optimal Drive’ energy-efficient drivetrain technology.
Volkswagen has its first full year of global sales of the redesigned Golf, Europe’s top-selling car in February, according to analysts Jato, and is also launching the all-new B-segment Polo supermini. It also recently launched a Passat coupe and is adding additional models to its Tiguan compact SUV line.
Market research company RL Polk Germany predicted this month that Volkswagen would overtake GM as the world’s second-largest automaker as the US giant suffers steep declines at home amid fears of bankruptcy, Reuters noted.
