Toyota Motors has been the world’s top new car sales for five consecutive years
Germany’s Volkswagen (VW) Group, a large automobile company, released data on January 14, saying that global new car sales in 2024 will be 9.0274 million units, a decrease of 2% from 2023. The Chinese market, which accounts for more than one-third of Volkswagen’s overall sales, has fallen by 10% year-on-year, which has a significant impact on sales. Toyota (including Lexus)’s global sales from January to November 2024 were 9.25 million units, surpassing Volkswagen. Toyota is expected to rank first in global sales for five consecutive years.
Volkswagen Group’s pure electric vehicle (EV) sales in 2024 decreased by 3% year-on-year to 744,800 units. The US market decreased by 31% year-on-year to 49,400 units, and the European market decreased by 5% year-on-year to 447,900 units, with sales falling sharply. On the other hand, the Chinese market increased by 8% year-on-year to 207,400 units. Overall, EVs accounted for 8.3% of new car sales, the same as in 2023.
In the Chinese market, where sales of new energy vehicles such as EVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHVs) are growing, sales of fuel vehicles and diesel vehicles are sluggish. Total new car sales fell 10% year-on-year to 2.9281 million units.
Sales of the main Volkswagen passenger car brand fell 1% year-on-year to 4.7969 million units. It plans to launch a new generation of the SUV “T-Roc” with cumulative sales of more than 2 million units in 2025 to reverse the situation.
Regarding passenger car brands, high production costs at domestic factories in Germany have affected the group’s performance. After labor-management negotiations, Volkswagen decided to close the EV assembly plant in Dresden, eastern Germany, at the end of 2025 and lay off 35,000 employees by 2030.
Sales of Audi, the luxury car brand of the Volkswagen Group, also fell 12% year-on-year to 1.6712 million units, falling behind Tesla of the United States for the first time (sales of 1.79 million units in the same period). In particular, Audi’s EV sales fell 8% year-on-year to 164,500 units, and it is struggling. Volkswagen is considering closing its EV factory in Brussels, Belgium.