Despite supply bottlenecks hampering production and impacting sales, Toyota managed to retain its title as the best-selling automaker in 2022. The latest figures come in, showing the Japanese automaker delivered 10,483,024 vehicles to customers from around the world. The total – which is down 0.1 percent compared to 2021 – includes deliveries made by subsidiary Daihatsu as well as commercial vehicle maker Hino.
Toyota ended the year well ahead of the Volkswagen Group as the German auto conglomerate sold just 8.3 million cars in 2022, down seven percent from the previous year. It was VW’s worst result in more than a decade, caused by supply shortages resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In addition, China’s COVID-19 lockdown has also impacted sales as the world’s most populous country is one of VW’s key markets.
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Returning to Toyota, although global sales fell slightly, worldwide production actually increased 5.3 percent to 10,610,604 units. The core brand assembled 5.2 percent more vehicles than the previous year, reaching 9,026,713 units. Domestic production fell 7.7% to 2,656,009 cars while the number of vehicles assembled outside Japan jumped 11.7% to 6,370,704 cars.
Although Toyota holds the global sales crown, it was ousted in the United States by General Motors. In 2022, GM moved 2,274,088 vehicles while Toyota Motor North America (TMNA), including Lexus, delivered 2,108,458 during the calendar year.
A shortage of parts is still a headache for Toyota, forcing the company to halt operations at its plant in the Czech Republic in February. The Kolin factory where workers assemble the Aygo X and Yaris will be on hiatus from January 31 until the end of next month.
Global production plans are adjusted monthly due to supply constraints. If all goes according to plan, Toyota intends to build 10.6 million vehicles by 2023, so it’s about the same as last year.