Volkwagen has long held ambitions to become the world’s biggest automaker by 2018, but analysts say the German automaker might be able to reach its goal quite a bit sooner than initially thought.
The average of estimates from J.D. Power, IHS Automotive and PwC Autofacts place VW’s sales for 2011 at 8.1 million vehicles, compared with predictions of 7.27 million for Toyota and 7.55 million for General Motors.
Update and Correction on Sales Figures
Astute fact checkers have ascertained that the sales figures listed above aren’t quite right. It seems the analysts surveyed didn’t start with the correct global sales figures for 2010 before applying their forecasts for yearly percentage gains, essentially invalidating their predictions from the start.
Assuming that sales trends continue for the remainder of the year as they have through the first nine months, here’s how the global sales race will shake out for 2011:
General Motors sold 8.48 million vehicles last year and is on pace for an eight percent sales gain this year, meaning it should end the year as the world’s largest automaker with about 9.16 million sales. Toyota should fall to third place on a sales decrease of nine percent to 7.55 million from 8.56 million in 2010, while VW will move up to the the silver medal position with total 8.29 million units sold, compared with 7.34 million the prior year, on a 13.9 percent sales increase.
