Toyota Is Still The Biggest Car Company In The World

For the fourth year in a row, Toyota is the world's best-selling automaker.

By: Adrian Padeanu

Updated: Jan 30, 2024 at 3:00am ET

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We've been waiting for Toyota to release sales data for 2023 ever since the Volkswagen Group announced it sold 9.24 million cars. The numbers are in, and as expected, the Japanese juggernaut managed to comfortably beat its German rival with a record-breaking 11,233,039 vehicles shipped last year. That's an increase of 7.2 percent year-over-year, which makes Toyota the best-selling automaker for the fourth year in a row.

A closer look at the numbers shows that Toyota and Lexus brands delivered 10,307,395 cars in 2023, or 7.7 percent more than the prior year – and a new record. Daihatsu also posted solid results as shipments grew by 3.2 percent to 790,441 units. The last 12 months haven't been kind to the Hino commercial vehicles division, though, as sales declined by 9.8 percent to 135,203 units.

	Global Sales	Increase
Toyota Group	11,233,039 Vehicles	7.2 Percent
Toyota + Lexus	10,307,395 Vehicles	7.7 Percent
Lexus	824,258 Vehicles	132 Percent
Daihatsu	790,441 Vehicles	3.2 Percent

Sales outside of Japan reached an all-time high last year when Toyota and its subsidiaries shipped 8,928,230 cars, an increase of 4.1 percent compared to the previous year. The main Toyota and Lexus brands accounted for the bulk of the sales, with 8,634,425 cars, up by 4.3 percent over 2022 to set yet another record. The United States was the biggest single market with 2,617,033 cars, or 7 percent more than the year before.

Lexus achieved record sales in 2023 after shipping 824,258 cars – a whopping 132-percent jump compared to 2022. North America was by far the biggest region with 355,606 units (+124 percent), followed by Asia with 236,587 units (+113 percent) and domestic market Japan with 94,647 units (+229 percent).

	North American Sales	Increase
Toyota Group	2,248,477 Vehicles	6.6 Percent
Lexus	355,606 Vehicles	124 Percent

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How did other large automakers fare in 2023? The Hyundai/Kia/Genesis trio posted total sales of 7.32 million vehicles (+6.7 percent increase) to claim the last spot on the podium. General Motors has yet to publish global sales figures for the previous year, but we'll remind you that it shipped 5.93 million cars in 2022. Stellantis will publish data for the year that just ended on February 15, and in the meantime, it's worth mentioning deliveries stood at 5.84 million vehicles in 2022.

Another Japanese automaker published global sales results today for the whole 2023. Nissan moved 3,225,632 cars in the previous 12 months, representing an increase of 4.6 percent.