We interrupt our self-imposed, server-caused reporting pause for the usual once-a-month ranking of world’s largest automakers. As you can see, it’s messy.
Perennial leader Toyota Group is down 4.5% for the year, mainly because at their Daihatsu mini-vehicle division matters got rocky in the wake of their testing scandal. Wordwide Daihatsu sales are down a whopping 55% y/y. Sales of core brands Toyota and Lexus were mostly unchanged for the year, but small Daihatsu hurts bigtime.
Sales of 3rd-ranked Hyundai Group also were mostly flat for the year.
And what about Volkswagen Group? Sorry, they are keeping their sales data to themselves. Volkswagen decided last month to go from a monthly to a quarterly reporting schedule, never a good sign. Kicking the can down the road probably beats cheating. Speaking of which: Last year, there were rumors flying around the VW hallwayradio that there might be cosmetic changes to the reporting of Chinese sales data.
