Auto sales: Toyota dethroned Volkswagen in 2020

The Japanese giant Toyota took last year from the German Volkswagen the first place in the global automotive market by volume, by selling about 9.53 million vehicles of all brands of the group, according to figures released Thursday.

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This is the first time since 2015 that Toyota has returned to the top of this ranking.

The Volkswagen Group sold 9.3 million vehicles (-15.2%) last year, according to figures released earlier this month.

Pandemic requires, Toyota's volume sales weakened significantly last year (-11.3% over one year), but in smaller proportions than those of its great rival.

"

", commented the group in its press release.

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While the Volkswagen group depends more heavily on the European market, which has been severely affected by the health crisis, the Japanese group has notably benefited from a solid increase in its sales in China (+ 10.9% last year for its Toyota and Lexus).

Volkswagen has also embarked on a strategic shift since 2018, placing more emphasis on its profitability - lower than that of Toyota - rather than on volumes.