About Bertel Schmitt

With only two more months to go for the year, World’s Largest Automakers continue to hover slightly below last year’s level.

Down 3.9% for the year, Toyota Group improved its last month showing (-4.4%) by a few basis points. Toyota cites “severe market conditions” in China, and the impact of recalls in North America. Toyota Group is still poised to finish the year with more than 10 mln. units sold.

No-show Volkswagen decided to release sales data only on a quarterly basis.

Down only 1.4% YOY, Hyundai Group is the healthiest of the Top 3.

Caveat: All sales data as reported by the respective automaker. Note that “sales” can be an elastic term, some OEMs report hard registrations, some “sales to wholesale,” which can mean cars placed on dealer lots, or transferred to the OEM’s sales organization. Methods may differ from region to region. Some report “deliveries,” which can be nothing more than cars moved out of the factory door.