Toyota Is The Largest Automaker In The World, Again

2015 Toyota Camry (Credit: Toyota )

Once again Toyota is officially the biggest automaker in the world. The automaker reported that for all of 2014, 10.23 million of its vehicles from the Toyota, Lexus, and Scion brands were scooped up by car shoppers around the world. That bested Volkswagen’s 10.14 million unit sales, which was obviously harmed by poor sales in the United States. Rounding out the top three was General Motors, which captured 9.92 million cars while recalling far more during the year.

The results for 2014 means that Toyota is on a winning streak, having landed in the top sales spot worldwide for three years in a row. It wasn’t so lucky when it came to the United States market, where Ford grabbed the top spot with 2.39 million units. Toyota was able to secure second place by selling 2.06 million vehicles in the US. The funny thing is Toyota is still trying to claim it was the top automaker in the country by saying that fleet sales don’t count, taking a page from Honda’s playbook.

What is the secret for Toyota’s success? As many have pointed out, the Camry is the company’s champion. Consumers love the Camry for reasons car enthusiasts can’t understand. After all, the Camry is about as boring a car as you can get. There are other reliable sedans that also offer at least a little bit of flavor, yet car shoppers gladly line up for their chance on the Camry amusement park ride. Thanks to that kind of mindless followership, the Camry has been the top-selling car (factoring out trucks) in the United States.

Of course, Honda has taken issue with such claims made by Toyota, because it says Camry fleet sales don’t count. Toyota should remember that what comes around goes around.