Toyota’s worldwide sales nudged up 3 percent in 2014, thanks in part to strong SUV demand from the United States. Toyota outpaced Volkswagen (10.14 million units) and General Motors (9.92 million units) for the 2014 sales crown.
Toyota’s 2014 sales were led by the U.S. market, where demand increased 6.2 percent to 2.37 million vehicle. Toyota fielded particularly strong interest for its compact RAV4 and larger Highlander utility vehicles.
The automaker also posted sales gains in Europe, China and Brazil.
Despite a strong 2014, Toyota is expecting its sales momentum to subside in 2015 as the company holds the line on building any new factories.
“Their focus is not No. 1,” Peggy Furusaka, a Tokyo-based auto-credit analyst at Moody’s Investors Service, told Bloomberg. “Toyota is more concerned about keeping profitability than chasing numbers. So for coming years, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Toyota selling fewer cars than VW.”
Toyota is predicting a 1 percent decline in sales to 10.15 million vehicles this year. Neither VW nor GM has revealed their forecasts for 2015.
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