This performance reflects the resistance in the whole of the Japanese giant’s production (which also includes its Hino and Daihatsu brands) despite the severe disruption of the global supply chains of the automotive industry, in particular for semiconductors. .
Toyota has risen to the top for the second consecutive year ahead of the German Volkswagen group (VW, Audi, Skoda, Seat brands, etc.), whose global sales fell by 4.5% last year, to 8 .88 million units, according to figures published in mid-January.
Toyota’s extreme focus on its suppliers for many years has allowed it to better prepare for semiconductor shortages compared to many rivals, especially in the first half of 2021.
Subsequently, the group also experienced production difficulties, linked in particular to Covid-19 in Southeast Asia, and its production in Japan is currently slowed down by the Omicron wave.
Toyota also benefited last year from its more balanced global geographic position than that of Volkswagen, which is much more dependent on the European market than is the Japanese group. Europe, where the car market experienced a record low last year, accounts for only around 10% of Toyota’s volume sales, while the continent accounts for nearly 40% of the German group’s sales.
The icing on the cake for Toyota, it also rose to first place in car sales in the United States last year, ahead of the American General Motors, which had nevertheless been the unstoppable leader in the country since 1931.
True to form, the Japanese giant did not show off on Friday, aware of the exceptional factors that played in its favor last year and the clouds that persist.
In December, its global sales fell (-5.5% group-wide) for a fourth month in a row.
“The outlook for both Covid-19 and parts supplies remains uncertain, and we will continue to do everything to minimize the impact” of these disruptions, Toyota said in a statement.
For its part, the alliance formed by the French Renault and the Japanese manufacturers Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors sold just under 7.7 million vehicles worldwide last year, a figure almost stable over one year, according to a AFP calculation from data released separately on Friday.
Nissan’s global sales increased slightly (+0.9%) to some four million units, their dynamism in North America having offset their decline in Europe and China.
Mitsubishi Motors saw its annual sales rebound by more than 12% to nearly 920,000 units.
In mid-January, the Renault group announced a further decline in global sales in 2021 (-4.5% over one year), to less than 2.7 million units.
