- Toyota executive believes quality, durability, and reliability are the company’s strongest assets.
- The strong dealer network and after-sales support have also contributed to the company’s success.
- However, the ascension of Chinese brands is spectacular.
With a little over 10.5 million cars sold in 2025, Toyota (including Lexus) retained the global sales crown for the sixth consecutive year. Counting the subsidiary Daihatsu, the total climbs to around 11.2 million, further widening the gap to second-place Volkswagen Group, which sold nearly 8.7 million vehicles (excluding full-size commercial vehicles).
While Toyota and the VW Group continue to duke it out at the top of the leaderboard, the meteoric rise of Chinese automakers can’t be ignored. BYD ranked sixth globally last year after shipping 4.6 million cars, up 7.72 percent from 2024. Chairman Wang Chuanfu has ambitious plans, believing the company has what it takes to become the world’s number-one automaker within the next five years.
MG’s owner, SAIC, isn’t far behind. It finished 2025 in seventh place with 4.5 million vehicles sold, representing a 12.3 percent year-over-year increase. Volvo’s parent company, Geely, delivered 4.12 million cars, a whopping 26 percent jump that secured ninth place in the global rankings.
Photo by: Toyota
Even though these three Chinese automakers are already in the top 10 and continue to grow at a pace that should concern long-established manufacturers, Toyota believes it still has the edge.
Toyota Australia’s Vice President of National Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations, John Pappas, detailed the company’s greatest assets in an interview with Drive magazine:
‘Toyota premium really comes out of product value and the fact that we’re renowned for our QDR – quality, durability, reliability. Around brand trust in times of uncertainty, people always go to brands they trust. We saw it in COVID, and I feel like our brand trust has really enabled that over a long period of time.’
He went on to say it’s not just about the product itself, but also the strong dealership network built around it and the after-sales support. Pappas also pointed to strong resale values as another feather in Toyota’s cap. We’d add that the company’s vast global lineup, along with region-specific models, also helps it maintain its dominance, although the Japanese automotive juggernaut is considering slimming down its portfolio.
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Source: Toyota
Motor1’s Take: Being number one certainly earns Toyota bragging rights, but there’s more to the story than sheer volume. Profit margins play a crucial role in any business, and the company knows it can’t afford to rest on its laurels.
During a meeting with suppliers earlier this year, ex-CEO Koji Sato painted a surprisingly grim picture of the future unless Toyota takes action to reduce costs:
‘Unless things change, we will not survive. I want everyone to acknowledge this sense of crisis. Right now, we in the automotive industry are battling for our very survival.’
The Chinese threat is very much real.