ALBAWABA - Toyota Motor announced a record-breaking achievement by selling 11.2 million vehicles in 2023, securing its position as the world's best-selling car company for the fourth consecutive year.
The Japanese automotive company reported a 7.2% increase in global group sales last year, inclusive of sales from truck unit "Hino Motors" and small car manufacturer "Daihatsu." This growth was supported by record external sales, reaching 8.9 million vehicles.
Toyota Motors tops global car sales for fourth consecutive year!
(Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)
In contrast, German rival "Volkswagen," holding the second position, disclosed earlier this month a 12% increase in deliveries for the previous year, totaling 9.2 million cars. This rebound follows the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and a subsequent easing of supply chain constraints.
Toyota's original car sales alone, including both the Toyota and Lexus brands, reached a record high of 10.3 million vehicles in 2023, according to Reuters. Hybrid cars, running on both gasoline and electricity, accounted for about one-third of these vehicles, while battery-electric cars constituted less than 1%. The depreciation of the Japanese yen aided export-oriented companies like Toyota, Honda, and Sony, despite rising costs for essential imports such as oil and gas, supporting the recovery of the world's third-largest economy.
In December, Japanese car shipments surged by 16%, totaling 1.47 million vehicles, and saw a more than 35% increase in value in terms of the dollar. Strong growth was also observed in power generation equipment, construction machinery, and semiconductor exports.
Toyota's car exports, among others, contributed to a 3% increase in Japan's exports in 2023, reaching 100.9 trillion yen ($680 billion), while imports decreased by 7% to 110.2 trillion yen ($740 billion). The trade deficit narrowed significantly to 9.2 trillion yen ($62 billion), a sharp decline from the 20.3 trillion yen deficit in 2022.
