Volkswagen has been announced as the top -selling automaker for 2016. The announcement was made last Monday with the German car manufacturer finally taking the title from Toyota.
Volkswagen is 2016's top-selling automaker. Toyota announced its global sales at 10,175,000 units in 2016 with global production at 10,213,486 units. VW, on the other hand, reported a few weeks ago that it was able to deliver 10.3 million vehicles worldwide the previous year.
Production-wise, the two major car manufacturers have a difference of more or less 100,000 units. The difference between their sales numbers is even greater. However, the Paris-based International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers or OICA awards the title of top-selling automaker based not on the number of sales but on the number of vehicles produced.
Although Japanese car manufacturer Toyota is able to publish monthly production numbers, VW does not. The German car manufacturer is only able to publish deliveries.
According to VW spokesperson Leslie Bothge, deliveries and production only slightly differ. She cited that "a car that was produced in 2016 may only have been delivered in 2017."
VW's sales results were amplified by a very strong performance in China. 2016 saw sales increase by 0.37 million from 2015's 9.93 million. It should be noted that VW sales also include Audi, Porsche, and Skoda vehicles.
Volkswagen's title of the top-selling automaker for 2016 comes after news of the car manufacturer's involvement in an emissions scandal broke out. The scandal was revealed in late 2015 and plunged VW into what is probably the worst crisis it had ever faced, rocking its reputation and affecting the company's stock value.
VW has recently agreed to pay US$1.2 billion as settlement for claims that the company had rigged its vehicles to cheat on emissions tests by installing modified software that tricked testing equipment. The settlement covers owners of over 78,000 VW, Audi, and Porsche vehicles.
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