Volkswagen Outpaces Toyota in First Half Sales, On Track to Become World’s Largest Automaker

The first half sales numbers are in, and things are looking quite good for the Volkswagen Group. According to a report published by Automotive News, Volkswagen’s 5.04 million sales in the first half of 2015 surpassed Toyota’s numbers by 20,000 units, as the Japanese auto manufacturer saw a decrease in year over year sales by 1.5 per cent. It’s not all roses for Volkswagen though, as their sales also slid .5 per cent year over year, due to uncertainty in the Chinese market, instability in the Russian Ruble, and slowing demand in South America.

While the Volkswagen Group’s portfolio is undoubtedly more vast than Toyota’s (owning Lexus, Scion, Hino and Daihatsu), the German automaker has traditionally lagged behind Toyota in terms of total sales- finishing roughly 90,000 units behind last year. And while the sales numbers did come as a bit of a surprise, there is still quite a ways to go before Volkswagen can officially be crowned the World’s Largest Automaker. The current stock market situation in China will have a direct (and possibly long-lasting) affect on Volkswagen’s largest market, which also happens to be a key market for Toyota, making this race a very interesting one to watch.

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