Volkswagen Is, So Far, Edging Out Toyota To Be 2015's Top Automaker

If you’d poll random people with the question of which automaker they reckon sells to most number of cars, they’d probably say either Volkswagen or Toyota. But at least for this year so far, Volkswagen takes top honours. 

It’s not a landslide margin, but according to CNN Money, the Germans managed to just eek out an advantage over its Japanese rival, selling 5.04 million cars from January to June 2015 compared to 5.02 million sold by Toyota over the same period.

Softening conditions in markets such as China and Russia, along with mellowing market demand are challenging manufacturers to look at new ways to entice customers. Volkswagen and others are cautious about the outlook.

The Volkswagen Group, which also has the Audi and Porsche brands under its umbrella, among many others, had described their performance this year as “satisfactory”, given the challenging terrain.

In China, particularly, they saw a nearly four percent drop in sales during the first half 2015. North America, however, was a market where sales for the Group climb six percent.

It is possible that a contributing factor of Toyota’s dip in worldwide sales was due to the massive recall of airbags manufactured by Takata. Indeed, many of the automaker’s vehicles were affected, as were other Japanese manufacturers.