Toyota Motor Co. (TM+1.12%) sold 10.8 million vehicles in 2024, making it the top-selling automaker in the world by sales for the fifth year in a row.
The Japanese automaker’s sales fell 3.7% compared to last year, when it sold 11.2 million units across its brand, marking its first decrease in two years, according to the company. That decline was mostly led by the company’s poor performance in Japan, where the automaker struggled to deal with the fallout stemming from safety scandals.
Toyota’s Daihatsu subsidiary admitted last year to rigging collision safety tests for some 88,000 vehicles, which led to investigations, temporary factory shutdowns, and a management shakeup. For several months last year, the scandal helped slow sales across Japan’s automakers, which otherwise are viewed as having excellent quality control.
The Daihatsu unit sold 38.3% fewer vehicles in Japan and 32.1% fewer vehicles outside of the country, while Hino Motors sold 12.5% more vehicles in Japan and 7.1% fewer around the world.
Toyota’s name-brand sales, including those of the premium Lexus brand, fell 13.8% in the domestic market, reaching 1.4 million units sold. More than 8.7 million units were sold out of Japan, marking a 1% increase and the fourth consecutive year of growth.
As for Toyota’s rivals, German automaker Volkswagen (VWAGY-1.24%) reported a 2.3% decline in sales earlier this month to slightly more than 9 million vehicles. Europe’s biggest carmaker has had a troubled year, leading to it announcing plans to shutter factories for the first time in decades to help cut costs. A deal with the IG Metall trade union helped avert plant closures, but more than 35,000 jobs in Germany will be cut by 2030 to help save more than $15 billion.
Both Toyota and Volkswagen struggled in China, which continues to be a highly competitive market. Toyota sold 3% fewer vehicles in China than it did in 2023, with the company citing “intensifying price competition” and a shift to new energy vehicles, a catch-all term referring to cars powered by clean energy.
Toyota sold more than 4.5 million electric vehicles last year, up 23.2%, of which more than 4.1 million were the hybrid EVs the company is known for popularizing. Another 153,829 were plug-in hybrid EVs. Almost 140,000 units sold were battery-powered EVs, marking a 34.5% increase, largely led by sales outside of Japan.
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