This Car Company Sold 1.5 Crore Cars In Last 365 Days: Becomes World’s #1 Car Manufacturer (Upcoming Cars?)

Toyota has become the world’s biggest carmaker for the second year in a row after reporting a rise in its vehicle sales by 10.1% last year.

It has widened the gap between it and its nearest rival Volkswagen.

Sales In 2021

Toyota sold 10.5 million vehicles in 2021, including those by affiliates Daihatsu Motors and Hino Motors.

Volkswagen sold  8.9 million units in the same period which is a 5% decline from 2020 and its lowest sales figures in 10 years.

Resilience Against Component Shortage

Automakers have been forced to reduce production due to a shortage of semiconductors which has hit supply chains while boosting competition for the key component among makers of consumer electronic devices.

Toyota fared better than the others since its home market Japan and parts of Asia were less affected by the pandemic than Europe.

Set To Miss Production Target

For the business year ending March 31, Toyota said that it will likely miss its production target of 9 million vehicles due to disruptions linked to COVID-19.

Meanwhile in India, Toyota will launch 4 new vehicles this year including a hatchback, a compact SUV, a mid-size SUV and a lifestyle pick-up truck.

Toyota Hilux

Bookings for the pick-up truck are already open and customers will have to pay Rs. 50,000 as the booking amount. 

Prices will be revealed in March and deliveries will also begin then. 

Two variants will be offered- Standard and High.

It is expected to cost Rs. 35 lakhs.

New-Gen Toyota Glanza

Toyota rebadged the Baleno as Glanza for the Indian market. 

Its joint venture partner Maruti Suzuki will launch the updated Baleno in February.

Toyota will follow suit with the Glanza, but the exact launch timeline is not yet known.

Updated Urban Cruiser

This is the Vitara Brezza rebadged by Toyota as the Urban Cruiser.

The new Vitara Brezza will be launched by Maruti Suzuki in April followed by Toyota. 

New Mid-Size SUV

This is one involving both Toyota and Maruti Suzuki.

It will be launched as a competitor to Hyundai Creta, MG Astor, Renault Duster, Nissan Kicks and Kia Seltos.

This could be the most important launch for either carmaker since both are betting on it to help them crack the mid-size SUV segment in India.

Codenamed D22 by Toyota and YFG by Maruti Suzuki, it could arrive during the festive season this year.