Despite year-on-year sales declines in its home market, North America and China, Toyota remained the world's top-selling automaker.
Last year was a tough one for the global auto industry. As we all know, many countries have been affected by parts supply and COVID-19. For example, the US auto market totaled 13.867 million units in 2022, down 7.9% from a year earlier and the worst sales performance since 2011; On the other hand, new car sales in the UK auto market were 1.61 million units, a 30-year low, down 2% year-on-year.
As the major auto groups announce their report cards for 2022, we can also expect their sales rankings to be finalized. According to published data, the global sales volume of Toyota, the Japanese automaker, was about 10.48 million vehicles in 2022. The company has been the global auto sales champion for three consecutive years.
In this article, we'll take a brief look at these results and discuss how they were achieved.
On January 30, 2023, Toyota Motor Corporation announced that its global sales last year were about 10.5 million vehicles (including Daihatsu and Hino). Thanks to sales growth in Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines, Toyota's global sales did not show a significant decline from the previous year, which was basically the same as last year.
However, it is worth noting that Toyota showed year-on-year declines in its home market in Japan, North America, and China. In addition to supply chain issues and the impact of pandemics, Toyota's slow transition to electrification contributes to declines in these markets.
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Volkswagen Group's sales have fallen sharply due in part to parts supply problems. As a result, in 2022, Volkswagen Group's global sales were expected to be approximately 8.3 million vehicles, a decrease of 7% from the previous year and reaching an 11-year low. Although supply chain problems have been resolved by the second half of 2022, they still cannot offset the 22% year-on-year decline in the first half.
In terms of sales in China, Volkswagen's sales in 2022 totaled 3.1845 million vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 3.6%. Its market share dropped from 16% in 2021 to 15.1%. One reason is that there are more and more electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid vehicles on the market; although Volkswagen will deliver a total of 180,600 new energy vehicles in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 51.6%, compared with Chinese independent car brands, there are still gaps between them. It is reported that Volkswagen will launch the ID.7 as early as this year's second half; it is expected that it can help the Volkswagen brand make further breakthroughs in the new electric vehicle market.
Even though Korean cars are underperforming in China, their global sales are increasing. According to data released by Hyundai Motor, global sales in the past 2022 reached a total of 6.848 million vehicles, second only to Toyota and Volkswagen, surpassing the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, ranking third in the world. Among them, Hyundai Motor's sales in 2022 will be 3.945 million vehicles--a 1.4% increase from last year--while Kia's sales volume in 2022 will be 2.904 million vehicles--a 4.6% increase from last year.
In 2022, Hyundai sold 3.256 million vehicles in markets other than South Korea, an increase of 2.9% over the previous year. In terms of electric vehicles, Hyundai's global sales of pure electric models IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6 exceeded 100,000 in 2022; this will help this automaker continue its transition electric vehicle era. Regarding targets for 2023, Hyundai Motor (including Genesis) has a global sales target of 4.321 million units; Kia Motors has a global sales target of 3.2 million units.
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These are some of the car companies that have reported global sales, and while some have not yet, we expect these top three spots to be claimed. As the pandemic improves and the supply chain recovers, it is expected that 2023 will see a new wave of growth in global car sales.
| Rank | Company | Country |
|---|---|---|
| #1 |  Volkswagen |
Germany |
| #2 |  Toyota |
Japan |
| #3 |  Stellantis |
Netherlands |
| #4 |  Mercedes-Benz Group |
Germany |
| #5 |  Ford Motor |
United States |
| Rank | Company | Country |
|---|---|---|
| #1 |  Michelin |
France |
| #2 |  Bridgestone |
Japan |
| #3 |  Continental |
Germany |
| #4 |  Goodyear |
United States |
| #5 |  Sumitomo |
Japan |
