Toyota Continues To Be The Biggest Automaker In The World

Toyota Motor Company retained its position as the world’s largest car manufacturer by sales volume in the first half of 2026, further increasing its lead over Germany’s Volkswagen Group.

The total sales of the Toyota Group in the period from January to June amounted to 5.39 million vehicles, which represents a decrease of 2.8 percent compared to the same period last year. This Japanese manufacturer has been ranked number one in the world for vehicle sales in the first half of the year for seven years in a row, reports Anadolu Agency.

Sales on the domestic market increased by 4.4 percent year-on-year, reaching almost 1.1 million vehicles, while sales abroad fell by 4.5 percent, to around 4.3 million.

Sales of Toyota and Lexus brands fell 2.9 percent to 5.01 million units. North American sales rose 0.9 percent to 1.45 million (including a 0.5 percent increase in the U.S.), while Japanese sales rose 4.7 percent to nearly 805,000 vehicles.

The company said weaker sales in China outweighed the effect of solid demand in North America and Japan. Sales of Toyota and Lexus vehicles in China fell 17.1 percent to nearly 695,000 units, while sales in the Middle East fell 21.6 percent to about 219,000.

Demand in North America was boosted by hybrid vehicles and models including the Camry and 4Runner, although the transition to the new RAV4 model limited overall growth. In Japan, sales rose thanks to demand for new models, including the RAV4 and the all-electric bZ4X.

Sales of Toyota’s electrified vehicles — including hybrids, plug-in hybrids, battery-powered and fuel cell models — rose 9.1 percent to 2.71 million units, accounting for about 54 percent of total sales for the Toyota and Lexus brands.

Hybrid sales rose 4.4 percent to 2.33 million units, while sales of battery-powered vehicles jumped 135.3 percent, surpassing 193,000 units.

Production at the level of the entire group decreased slightly by 0.3 percent, to 5.51 million vehicles. Production in Japan increased by 1.9 percent, to 2.09 million units, while production abroad decreased by 1.6 percent, to 3.42 million.

Volkswagen Group, Toyota’s biggest rival, delivered 4.13 million vehicles worldwide in the first six months, down 6.3 percent from a year earlier and about 1.26 million vehicles less than Toyota delivered.

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