Toyota world's top-selling automaker for third year running

Jan 30 (Japan Today) - Toyota Motor Corp was the world's top-selling automaker in 2022, retaining its lead over German rival Volkswagen for the third year, company data showed Monday.

Despite the chip shortage and COVID-related supply chain disruption, Toyota and its subsidiaries sold nearly 10.5 million vehicles last year, around the same as in 2021.

In comparison, Volkswagen Group -- which held the top spot until 2020 when it was overtaken by Toyota -- sold 8.3 million units last year, an annual drop of seven percent.

"Despite the impact of production constraints caused by the spread of COVID-19, increased demand for semiconductors, and other factors, global sales were at the same level year-on-year as a result of solid demand centered around Asia," the Japanese car giant said.

In 2022, Toyota sold 2.7 million electrified vehicles, around five percent more than the previous year. The vast majority of those -- 2.6 million -- were hybrid models. ...continue reading

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