Toyota, VW locked in drive for No. 1

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Toyota, VW locked in drive for No. 1


Toyota Motor said global sales climbed 2.8 percent in the first nine months of this year as the carmaker battles Volkswagen AG for leadership.

Worldwide deliveries for Toyota, including its Hino Motors and Daihatsu Motor units, climbed to 7.6 million vehicles through September, spokesman Dion Corbett said. Volkswagen has reported sales of 7.4 million vehicles, excluding its two heavy-truck units.

The tight race between global giants is playing out as automakers, their customers and regulators contend with mounting recalls and rising scrutiny over the safety of vehicles. The industrywide struggle with defective cars poses risk to both Toyota and Volkswagen, which are benefiting from increasing demand in the China and U.S. markets.

“It’s a fantastic race, with their strengths coming in different parts of the world,” said James Chao, a Shanghai-based director at IHS Automotive. “You see the U.S. coming back quite strongly for Toyota, and then you see the great engine of growth for Volkswagen being China, which is continuing to perform.”

The industry is selling record numbers of vehicles globally as crises involving auto safety swirl. Air bags made by Takata are linked to at least four deaths and more than 30 injuries in the United States after the safety devices deployed with too much force, spraying metal shrapnel at occupants. U.S. authorities have begun an investigation and nearly eight million cars made by 10 automakers have been recalled.

In the United States, General Motors, the No. 3 automaker by worldwide deliveries, faces death claims that could rise into next year involving defective ignition switches. The Detroit-based company has confirmed 29 fatalities tied to the flaw, which it failed to fix after more than a decade.

GM sales rose 2 percent to 7.37 million during the year’s first nine months.

Toyota deliveries in the U.S. market increased 5.7 percent through September, paced by a 26 percent surge in sales of its RAV4 sport utility vehicle.

Volkswagen is benefiting from rising demand for its Audi luxury vehicles, driven by the Q5 SUV and long-wheelbase version of the A6 sedan.

The Q5 is ranked eight among the top ten best-selling SUVs in the market in the first nine months of this year, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The Wolfsburg, Germany-based parent Volkswagen claimed four of the nation’s 10 top-selling sedans during the same period, which included the Jetta and Santana models.

Bloomberg




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