Toyota Motor Company took over American giant General Motors last year and became the world’s largest auto maker last year by sales. However, the company has been experiencing a slowdown in its sales especially in the last quarter of 2009. The next emerging leader in the world auto market is Volkswagen which is expected to race ahead of Toyota by
2018 in global sales.
Toyota posted global sales figure of 8.97 million vehicles, including subsidiaries Hino and Daihatsu. On the other hand, VW reported 2009 sales of 6.29 million vehicles, up 1.1 percent from the previous year.
Toyota has been experiencing tough times in past. Apart from falling sales, it has also quit Formula One racing. Its reputation has also been seriously hit with recent incidents of recalls of millions of cars in the US and China due to compromised safety features.
In India also Volkswagen is emerging as fastest growing company with its groups companies like Skoda, VW, Audi all reporting healthy sales growth in all segments. VW introduced its latest hatchback model Polo at the recent Delhi Auto Expo 2010. The car hits the Indian roads in March this year.
