Can Tesla Become World's Top Automaker? This Is The Volume Boost It Needs To Catch Up With Global Leader Toyota

Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) successfully defended its title as the world’s biggest automaker by volume despite the tough macroeconomic backdrop.

What Happened: Toyota reported on Monday that its worldwide sales, including the numbers from its subsidiaries, came in at 10.48 million units in 2022, down 0.1% year-over-year. Toyota brand sales fell 0.5% to 9.57 million units, while Daihatsu and Hino contributed sales of 766,091 units and 149,972 units, respectively.

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The company sold 1.29 million units in Japan, down 12.7%, while overseas sales climbed 1.7% to 8.28 million units.

Notwithstanding production challenges, Toyota rolled out 10.61 million vehicles off its factory, with 9.03 million units being Toyota-branded vehicles. On a year-over-year basis, production fell 5.3%.

“Despite the impact of production constraints caused by the spread of COVID-19, increased demand for semiconductors, and other factors, global sales were at the same level year-on-year as a result of solid demand centered around Asia,” the company said in a statement.

Toyota also cautioned of the tough times continuing. “The situation remains difficult to predict due to semiconductor shortages and COVID-19,” it said.

Toyota Vs. Peers: Toyota was followed by German automaker Volkswagen AG (OTC: VWAGY), which delivered 8.26 million units in 2022. The German company’s sales fell 7% from last year as it struggled with supply constraints and temporary production stops.
Volkswagen noted that the 12% sales growth in the second half of 2022 could not offset the 22% drop in the first half.

Electric vehicles-only automaker Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) delivered 1.31 million units in 2022, representing a 40.34% year-over-year increase. The sales growth, however, trailed the company’s long-term target of 50%. Tesla’s Giga Shanghai plant, which churns out about half of the company’s total production, was shuttered for about a month in April amid the COVID-19 challenges in China.

The ramp-up back to normalcy was slow amid the COVID-19 restrictions.

Toyota's sales outperformed Tesla by about roughly eight times.

BMW AG’s (OTC: BMWYY) global sales fell 4.8% to 2.40 million units in 2022 and Toyota’s peer Honda Motor Company (NYSE: HMC) sold 3.87 million units, down 6.4%.

Official numbers from GM, Ford weren't available at the time of writing

Among the U.S. automakers, General Motor Corp. (NYSE: GM) reported earlier this month it sold 2.274 million vehicles in the U.S., representing 3% growth. In December, the Detroit-based automaker’s sales outperformed Toyota’s. GM separately said it along with its subsidiaries sold 2.3 million cars in China.

Despite Toyota’s volume leadership, the company has been panned for its guarded move toward its electrification. With Lexus subsidiary Koji Sato taking over from Toyota founder’s grandson Akio Toyoda this year, analysts expect the EV transition to pick up pace.

Price Action: NYSE-listed shares of Toyota closed Friday’s session at $147.16, up 1.16%, according to Benzinga Pro data.