Volkswagen edged ahead of Toyota in the calendar year 2016 to become the world’s bestselling automaker, despite being rocked by the massive emission scandal that hurt its reputation. Volkswagen Group products used the so-called ‘defeat devices’ to violate emission norms, the discovery of which sparked the emissions scandal in September 2015.
The Volkswagen Group sold 10.3 million (1,03,12,400) vehicles worldwide in 2016, a year-on-year rise of 3.8 percent, and Toyota registered sales of 1,01,75,000 vehicles (0.2 percent growth).
VW’s growth was propelled by surging demand in China (3,548,600 units, up 12 percent on year) which has been largely unaffected by the diesel-cheating scandal since the country doesn’t allow sales of diesel vehicles. Effects of the emission scandal, however, were evident in Europe – its second largest market – where 2016 sales slowed down to four percent growth (4,206,500 units).
For Toyota, sales came under pressure in US and China. Demand for the Camry declined in the US and volumes in China grew at a slower rate than the overall market, reports suggested.