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The United Kingdom’s Guardian newspaper reports IHS Global Insight figures as indicating that Volkswagen Group has surpassed Toyota Motor Corp. this month as the world’s largest car manufacturer. Volkswagen (including Porsche AG, their recent acquisition) sold 4.4 million units this year, climbing past Toyota, which produced about 4 million units to date this year. This milestone is not a shock.

VW’s popularity in China has also given them a great boost. In July alone, 128,000 VW units were sold in China; 1/4 of their global total. Compare that figure to the 223,000 units that VW sold in America for all of 2008, and it puts a little perspective on the situation.

All of this could change however with a slight rebound of the U.S. market. Toyota’s U.S. sales last year alone were over 2.2 million.

- By: Stephen Calogera

Source: AutoObserver

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