Last year there was much conjecture as to which was the world’s largest automaker, with Toyota and GM dukin’ it out with near-identical sales figures. Albeit gloomy ones. In the final wash-up of 2008 however, a victor has emerged.
While exact figures are still coming, Toyota’s sales have eclipsed GM by at least 600,000 units globally.
It is, of course, a bitter-sweet victory. Automotive manufactures the world over, Toyota included, have creaked and groaned their way through a very tough year.
Toyota then can be considered top of a shaky pile, so to speak, despite profit and market share reductions for the Big T.
For GM, it can perhaps take solace in the fact that it has held onto the number one spot for 77 long years. While it remains in desperate trouble, GM will likely live to fight another day. Its real battle over the next 12 months will be to retain the confidence of the US government that its massive bail-out loans are being put to good use.
Here, we’re hoping that Toyota’s new-found number one status inspires the Japanese marque to pull its finger out and give us a proper halo model. A production version of the FT-HS would do nicely (but we’re not holding our breath).
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Can anyone see a slight Irony here??? GM 77 years at the top and is now paying for it’s sins. Toyota has been working extremely hard to get the trophy onto the mantle piece and has recorded it’s worst profit result in 71 years!
Meanwhile VWAG has been quietly going about it’s business and has seen a minimum of a stable market with at least 2 of it’s brands showing substantial growth globally. Is there a lesson in ther for the astute business man?
I don’t think the TMC profit result and the worlds largest producer crown are that closely linked Frontman.
The GM position had been slipping for some years and so had the improvement in Toyota.
The fact that Toyota used a production technique based on Kaizen (continuous improvement)helped, along with the fact they could produce a vehicle from concept to production line in half the time Detroit could.
Sure the Germans had a good year and gained ground probably cause the Euro held up nicely. It still hasn’t stopped them putting 60,000 workers on shorter hours from next week.
Lets also see what happens now that Porsche effectively owns them. Minnows riding whales haven’t done that well in the auto arena in the past.