TOKYO: Toyota has relinquished the title of the world’s biggest automaker, reporting Monday that it sold 10.175 million vehicles worldwide in 2016, fewer than Volkswagen’s 10.31 million. If GM’s number falls short, it will be the first time the German automaker has become No. Toyota’s global sales last year were slightly better than in 2015, up 0.2 percent, but not good enough to beat Volkswagen, which has the Audi, Porsche and Skoda brands, and boosted its global sales 3.8 percent from the year before. In 2015, Toyota sold 10.15 million vehicles while Volkswagen was second with 9.93 million and GM third with 9.8 million. Volkswagen was keen to dethrone Toyota but disavowed that goal after CEO Martin Winterkorn lost his job over the emissions scandal.--AP

Source: New Strait Times January 30, 2017 05:15 UTC