Japan’s Toyota became the world’s best-selling car maker in 2022 and maintained its lead over German rival Volkswagen for the third year.
Regardless of the situation lack of chips and interruptions supply chain Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Toyota and its subsidiaries sold nearly 10.5 million vehicles last year, on par with 2021.
While, Volkswagen Group held the top spot until 2020, when Toyota took the throne. Last year, the German manufacturer sold 8.3 million units, down 7% from the previous year.
Toyota said that despite the impact of production restrictions due to the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic, an increase in demand for semiconductors and other factors, global sales remained at about the same level as compared to the previous year. same period last year due to solid demand in Asia.
In 2022, Toyota sold 2.7 million electric vehicles, up about 5% from the previous year, of which 2.6 million were hybrid models.
[Thay đổi lớn trong đội ngũ lãnh đạo của Tập đoàn ôtô Toyota]
Toyota pioneered hybrid vehicles, but some critics say the company has been slow to switch to battery-powered engines even as demand for low-emissions cars skyrocketed.
A year ago, Toyota announced it would launch 30 battery electric vehicles by the end of the decade. Mio Kato, an analyst at Lightstream Research, said that Toyota is likely to hold the throne in the near future.
Mr. Kato said that in terms of actual output, it is still difficult for Volkswagen or General Motors to overtake Toyota because both companies are under more pressure in China with the internal combustion engine business.
Kato noted that electric vehicle manufacturers like China’s BYD will become a “real threat” to Toyota in the future, possessing powerful battery technology with more experience and the ability to build better branding in electric vehicles.
However, electric vehicle manufacturers are still too small to stand a chance of actually competing with established automakers for at least a few years.
Last week, Toyota announced the appointment of Lexus brand president, Mr. Koji Sato as CEO, replacing Mr. Akio Toyoda – who has held this position for a long time. This is the first time in nearly 14 years that the leadership team of the world’s largest automaker has changed.
Toyota said Mr. Sato, 53, will assume the new role from April 1. Mr. Toyoda will become the Chairman. Meanwhile, incumbent Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada will step down, but will remain on the Board of Directors.
Tra My (VNA/Vietnam+)