Toyota keeps crown as world's top-selling automaker in 2023

The Japanese automaker sold a record 11.2 million vehicles to retain its crown for a fourth straight year

Toyota Motor Corporation cars are seen at a briefing on the company's strategies on battery EVs in Tokyo, Japan Dec 14, 2021. REUTERS

Toyota Motor sold a record 11.2 million vehicles in 2023, it said on Tuesday, taking the crown as the world's top-selling automaker for a fourth straight year.

The Japanese automaker reported a 7.2 percent jump in global group sales last year, including those of truck unit Hino Motors and small-car maker Daihatsu, helped by record overseas sales of 8.9 million vehicles.

Second-ranked German rival Volkswagen Group earlier this month reported a 12 percent rise in deliveries last year to 9.2 million cars, marking a post-pandemic recovery as supply chain bottlenecks eased.

Sales of Toyota's parent-only vehicles, which include those of its namesake and Lexus brands, hit a record of 10.3 million vehicles in 2023.

Gasoline-electric hybrids made up about a third of those. Battery electric vehicles accounted for less than 1 percent.