VW-Porsche has overtaken Toyota as the world's largest automaker, but the stay at the number one spot may be very temporary.
Volkswagen Group, having merged with Porsche, has had an output this year of 4.4 million units, while Toyota has produced 4 million vehicles since January 2009.
According to auto industry analysts IHS Global Insight, Volkswagen benefited from programs in Germany, the UK and China meant to spur car sales, while Toyota put the brakes on heavily during the automotive crisis that hit the industry late last year and early in 2009 and cut production substantially, slashing it almost in half from 2.1 million units to 1.1 million.
But Toyota is likely not about to cede its title for too long. After the collapse of GM, Toyota became the world's largest automaker, producing 9.24 million units in 2008. It is expected to only make about 7 million for 2009. But the Japanese automaker has a production capacity to manufacture about 10 million vehicles a year, far more than VW-Porsche. It is quite likely that once the crisis has passed, Toyota will once again be number one.
