Volkswagen Dethrones Toyota To Become World's Top-Selling Automaker

Toyota's production suffered for multiple reasons, including an explosion at one of its steel suppliers in February and the earthquake in April that damaged a plant operated by one of its key supplier. TMC, which currently manufactures vehicles under the purview of Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu, Ranz, and Scion, said its global sales dropped by 0.6 per cent in January - June, 2016 to 4.992 million vehicles worldwide, down from 5.021 million in the same period last year.

Volkswagen, on the other hand, delivered 5.116 million vehicles in the same period, thus registering a 1.5 per cent growth. Much against expectations, VW's sales are yet to bear the full brunt of its emissions cheating scandal. With that said, the mass-market Volkswagen brand has indeed suffered, which has been compensated by firm demand for Audi, Porsche, and Skoda cars.

The German carmaker said on Thursday it expected full-year sales to come in slightly above last year's 9.93 million deliveries, as demand in China and Western Europe outweighs declines in the Americas and Russia.

Meanwhile, General Motors, number 3 on the list of the largest automakers in the world, retained its rank with six-month sales of 4.76 million vehicles, down 1.2 percent from a year earlier.