Toyota has been enjoying the top spot in the Automobile industry for around two years with a strong sales growth of about 3.8 percent for the first six months of the year to about 5.097 million vehicles yesterday. On the other hand, Volkswagen, a popular German brand has been working on a rapid expansion drive in China, which is considered to be the world's biggest auto market.
Yoshiaki Kawano, a Tokyo-based analyst at IHS Automotive, said, “China is the driving force of the global market, and the degree to which a company is focused on that region is linked to the global sales performance.” The Volkswagen group has reportedly sold about 4.97 million vehicles in January-June, which is about 5.9% higher during the same period around a year ago.
Toyota held the top position for about two years, and prior to it, General Motors that was once at the top sold about 4.92 million vehicles between January – June period. Volkswagen has sold about 3.27 million vehicles in China last year and it is planning to invest around $ 24.4 Billions as part of its joint venture program with Chinese partners. The investment would span between 2014 and 2018. Takaki Nakanishi, auto analyst and CEO of Nakanishi Research Institute, said, “Even if Toyota makes up its mind on potential investments soon, it'll be around 2017 when those plants can start operating.”
