Cars: Toyota leads the world in sales volumes, this is the sixth consecutive year

Toyota confirms its global leadership in 2025, maintaining its position as the car manufacturer with the highest sales volumes for the sixth year running. According to figures released by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, the Japanese carmaker registered 10.32 million vehicles globally between January and November, while its main rival, the German Volkswagen Group, sold 8.98 million units in the 12 months of 2025, down 0.5 per cent year-on-year - well below Toyota's partial volume. Volkswagen's slowdown is largely explained by difficulties in key markets, explains the report: in China, its main trading outlet, deliveries fell by 8% to around 2.69 million cars, squeezed by increasing competition from local manufacturers, who are increasingly competitive on technology and efficiency. In the United States, the impact was aggravated by the tariff measures re-launched by the Donald Trump administration, which caused a 10.4% drop in sales. For its part, Toyota has retained its crown since 2020, thanks in part to the inclusion in its consolidated figures of the subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor, specialised in city cars, and Hino Motors, leader in light and heavy commercial vehicles. A strategy between hybrid and electric, less dependent on full-electric vehicles than its European rivals, which according to industry analysts seems to continue to pay off in a global context that is still fragmented in terms of infrastructure, industrial policies and consumer preferences.