Well ahead of VW’s initial projection of becoming the world’s largest automaker by 2018, it has now officially surpassed Toyota Motor Corp. worldwide in unit production this year.
Over the weekend, German reports put VW Group at 4.4 million units for the first nine months of 2009, where Toyota has manufactured only 4.0 million units. This change is believed to be largely due to the success of government scrappage schemes that boded well with VW models.
VW Group’s sales for 2009 are up by 34 percent in the first nine months, totaling 622,853 units. VW’s Skoda brand in particular enjoyed the greatest growth in Germany with Fabia sales up by 92.4 percent, as well as Octavia sales up by 20.4 percent.
Although the scrappage schemes are believed to have played a role in VW’s early success, VW continues to do well along with the rest of the automotive industry in the German market in particular. The German market saw a 26.1 percent growth in registrations in October, despite the end of scrappage schemes in September.
Another major shift in world production was noted with Ford surpassing GM as the world’s third largest automaker. Ford reported 3.7 million units produced in the first nine months of 2009, with GM trailing only slightly with 3.6 million units produced.
11/09, 4:42 PM
posted by:
gugy
Congrats to VW!
11/09, 4:43 PM
posted by:
SomeGreek
A new car company to hate fellow Americans!
11/09, 4:43 PM
posted by:
BuyUSA
Not for long though because the Big 3 are making a comeback!
11/09, 4:43 PM
posted by:
Need more oil for GM
Just another nail in GM’s coffin !
GM. An American Embarrassment !!!
11/09, 4:46 PM
posted by:
0-60
Yes. congrate to VW.
11/09, 4:47 PM
posted by:
85ZingoGTR
Yeah VW!!! Woohoo!! Bring some Oktoberfest girls and lets celebrate!!!
11/09, 4:50 PM
posted by:
ktulu
Yeah!
U toyota losers should get smart & join VW Nation!
11/09, 4:50 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
Undoubtedly Toyota would still be number one if they hadn’t run out of zip ties.
11/09, 4:55 PM
posted by:
elmdodge
heil vw!
11/09, 5:03 PM
posted by:
idrinorbarsaku
GO VW!!!
Down with ToyoDa!
11/09, 5:20 PM
posted by:
dickvictory
A bigger Toyota fan than VW but great job VW…
11/09, 5:20 PM
posted by:
leftwingagenda
isn’t this title the first indication things are about to hit the fan for your company?
11/09, 5:57 PM
posted by:
Yaroukh
I have a feeling that GM will overtake Ford again very soon. I might be wrong but haven’t they acknowledged rising production and market share recently?
(I am Ford-fan but I rather care about the company’s good shape than numbers of vehicles produced.)
11/09, 6:29 PM
posted by:
CiNO
No one gonna stay top forever. Maybe GM, Ford, Hyundai or whatever will be number one next year. Who knows? The one which fall down from top and find the way back to top is called a company with passion.
11/09, 6:34 PM
posted by:
Hazdaz
Good for VW, but being PROFITABLE is more important than total market share.
Who gives a crap if you are #1 but losing money?
Toyota might be in the red for a couple of quarters, but they will definitely be back in the black when the economy picks up. They might not make the most exciting cars on the road, but they are still tops (or near the top) in terms of quality and reliability while asking a fair price. If VW is sacrificing profits or quality now to get more quick sales then they will be paying for it in the long-term.
11/09, 6:47 PM
posted by:
Yaroukh
@Hazdaz: Just try to imagine for a moment that Toyota is not the only automaker who can manage to have decent quality, profits and production numbers at the same time.
11/09, 7:06 PM
posted by:
Borat
@Yaroukh, but if you read any quality reports on VW (especially in US) you will see huge gap in quality between self destructing Toyota and VW. Based on this article, it is Skoda that drives sales gain for VW group. The company who’s products we can’t sample. Actually, it is Skoda that is the most quality oriented producer, not Audi or VW. It is also the less expensive brand.
11/09, 7:16 PM
posted by:
DrFill
Pending third-party verification (something a lot more concrete than a random “German report”)
I’d like to congratulate VW
Considering their relative weakness here in the 2nd largest car market
This needs much more thorough investigation
If anything, it looks like VW is fading in the US market
DrFill
11/09, 7:23 PM
posted by:
Hazdaz
@ YAROUKH:
VW has had horrible quality recently. Maybe it has improved dramatically over the last year or two, but go back any farther than that, and as appealing as some VW/Audi models might look, I wouldn’t even think about buying one.
Also VW has earned a reputation for ridiculous prices too. Again, maybe things have changes dramatically over the past year or two, but to get a comparable Passat to some of it’s fellow mid-size competitors, you would be paying quite a big premium. Sure, some of that extra cost would be semi justified by having a really nice ride and “sporty” European handling, but that only goes so far.
I know that VW is making a big push into the US market and they plan on building more cars here in the US, which should help them be more competitive in price, but they also better improve their quality, or else this #1 spot might be very short-lived. Toyota cars might be a heck of a lot more boring and bland, but for the average consumer that just wants to go from Point A to Point B, they will usually pick safe-but-boring over exciting-but-unreliable.
11/09, 8:23 PM
posted by:
Smegley Wanxalot
LWA has it right – it’s a harbinger of a corporate downfall. That being said, Toyota being toppled in just one year is awesome.
11/09, 8:26 PM
posted by:
andy
GM was king for what, 70 some odd years? Toyota for 1 year, 1/70th the time, this sets VW up for a good 5 day run
11/09, 8:44 PM
posted by:
DenverGuy217
Toyota and GM can blame it on the closing of NUMMI :>)
11/09, 9:20 PM
posted by:
atoms
maybe they ran out of canadian tire money to buy zip ties
11/09, 9:21 PM
posted by:
A4
POW!
11/09, 9:22 PM
posted by:
A4
Nice try spinning that one Dr Fill… or should I say Dr Fail.
Dumbass.
11/09, 9:39 PM
posted by:
EMINEM
sweet….
11/09, 9:44 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
A4, give him a break. At least he came up from the dry heaves long enough to post.
11/09, 10:17 PM
posted by:
save saab
I saw this coming, this is a car company I want to be #1. I never hated VW and I have to say congrats to them. Hmm…. I smell something fishy, VW is coming out with the NCS and NMS which will be Americanized, but those will be the bread-and-butter cars that Corolla and Camry buyers’ want. We’ll still have the Golf/ GTi/GTi-R, Touareg, Tiguan, production bluesport concept, Polo, Phaeton, and the CC, so right now, the future of VW looks perfect.
11/09, 10:25 PM
posted by:
alsvw
Suck this toyota, and your hold them together with a zip tie cars, and don’t forget the rust bucket trucks.
Atleast VW makes fun to drive cars. Even the basement model VW Golf with a 5spd is more fun to drive then any toyota made today. Exlcluding the lexus line of buick/tooyota vehicles. Toyota was on top for making boring, slow, granny cars. I would like to know how much toyota is paying for keeping there death traps out of the media. Toyota will be 3rd or 4th within 5 years after these Audi 5000 like issues transpire.
11/09, 10:53 PM
posted by:
alsvw
Dr.Philled with crap is not going to come out of his moms basement for a very long time. Maybe we could all donate some money to send some food to his house. Or we could always contact meals-on-wheels. But, I was thinking the driver probably drives a diesel vw, and dr.phil may not except the kind donation from a anti-toyota driver.
11/09, 11:15 PM
posted by:
NO more oil for GM is retarded
vw=crap. They are just as bad as gm. Their electrics fail and good luck once the warranty ends.
POS cars.
11/10, 1:09 AM
posted by:
A4
Yep but when they have a warranty they’re more fun, luxurious, and teutonically solid than their competition. And aren’t ugly as sin like toyota’s. And dont have zip-ties holding down the floor mats. I’ll buy VWAG as long as they produce the types of cars they do. Not everyone gives a sh!t about whether or not the pixels will burn out in their dashboard. They’d rather enjoy the car for what it has to offer.
11/10, 2:40 AM
posted by:
LS7
LOL @ A4 for thinking VW cars are exciting.
Porsche = Exciting
VW = Garbage, borring, pathetic, unreliable, over-priced, and adored by gay-men world wide.
11/10, 3:01 AM
posted by:
Yaroukh
@Borat and Hazdaz: VW has terrible quality in US, not here in Europe. And there are no signs of VAG losing their quality level while posting the rizing numbers in production.
11/10, 3:04 AM
posted by:
Yaroukh
(BTW I’m from the same country as Skoda.)
11/10, 4:43 AM
posted by:
fordman
Hey everybody,Ford SUCKS! Hate to rain on your parade,but the dueshbag that wrote that article has the numbers wrong.GM is on top with 4.7 million sales. The day will never come when ****faced Ford will outsell GM!
11/10, 6:34 AM
posted by:
vwoom
“Well ahead of VW’s initial projection of becoming the world’s largest automaker by 2018…”
Talk about a VW Blitzkrieg!!!
11/10, 6:34 AM
posted by:
DrFill
ALS
When we want failure, we pray at your temple
DrFill
11/10, 8:39 AM
posted by:
nickkop
hey ford man… you should look at ford’s stock… closed at 8.18 per share last night…. where is GM’s $0.58 … nice…… or try again…. FAIL
11/10, 8:40 AM
posted by:
nickkop
btw.. who cares how many units GM produces when nobody outside of Michigan wants to buy them !?!?
11/10, 8:52 AM
posted by:
nickkop
my favorite mass-volume auto producers, somewhat in order of preference:
BMW
Honda/Acura
VW (Group)
Nissan/Infiniti
Toyota/Lexus
FORD / Volvo
GM: I personally only like Corvette Z06 / Pontiac G8 – Holden Commodore/ Cadillac CTS-V / Saab 93AeroXWD
Mercedes-Benz/Chrysler/Hyundai…. etc etc etc..
11/10, 8:54 AM
posted by:
nickkop
if i were to buy a product of company owned within the USA :
Go FORD !!
11/10, 8:57 AM
posted by:
alsvw
drfilled with crap- why do you think you are part of toyota? the toyota dealer probably fired you a long time ago. and this was when you were just allowed to change the oil in the low end camry, and corolla’s.
11/10, 9:02 AM
posted by:
nickkop
oh and by the way… congrats to VW and group… you guys are obviously doing something right… you just might need to do a little more of that something here in the USA
11/10, 9:18 AM
posted by:
NO more oil for GM is retarded
Yea, good ole vw electronics. Leave you on the side of the road as you call the aaa. VW couldn’t design a good looking car if they tried. The rabbit, oh wait golf. Wait a minute lets call it rabbit. lol
Garbage cars that are always being towed by tow trucks back to their oh so superior dealership. Heil VW.
11/10, 9:23 AM
posted by:
jetbear
LS7 – Your comments are contradictory and asinine at best.
The Porsche 912 had a VW Air-Cooled motor. The Porsche Cayenne’s frame and doors are sourced from VW. The Panamera’s body is built at the Volkswagen facility in Hannover. Porsche also owns a large portion of VW (at least 30%).
VW not exciting? Pray tell, tell me who owns Bugatti? Who built the engine that powers the Veyron? (W16 > LS7, and that’s not debatable.)
11/10, 11:38 AM
posted by:
MaytagRepairman
Checking calendar…….. Nope it isn’t April 1.
11/10, 12:32 PM
posted by:
A4
Hey LS7 you c0ckbag, did I use the word exciting? NO. I used the word fun. Which they are, like the GTI and GLI, and with high mileage TDI’s that are infinitely more fun to drive than a hybrid. SUCK IT BIATCH
11/10, 1:11 PM
posted by:
JKT6
I agree with Yaroukh. Here in Europe VW has a perfect quality. But they are also a bit more expensive.
11/10, 2:02 PM
posted by:
yarddog82abn
WHAT THE FUNK??????????????
TOYOTA NO LONGER THE “NUMBER-ONE” AUTO MAKER IN THE WORLD????
HEAVY IS THE HEAD THAT WEARS THE CROWN, AND LIKE I SAID BEFORE…
ANY ONE CAN WIN ONE CHAMPIONSHIP, BUT A TRUE WORLD CHAMPION…
WILL ALWAYS FIND IT’s WAY BACK TO THE TOP….
CONGRATS TO THE GERMANS…
CRAFTSMANSHIP,… QUALITY,… RELIABILITY,…
AND THAT VW BUG THAT WE SEE ON T.V.
CONGRATS,… FROM THE BIGGEST AMERICAN CAR NUT…
11/10, 2:30 PM
posted by:
idrinorbarsaku
The opinions of fags who have never owned them are as useful as the opinions of a crying, 12 year old, b!tch!
11/10, 4:00 PM
posted by:
yarddog82abn
@…. idrinorbarsaku
The haters will always hate, I for one have own a lot of cars, and like I said,
CRAFTSMANSHIP,… QUALITY,… RELIABILITY,…
The GERMANS do it best, just think…
BUGATTI, BENTLEY, LAMBORGHINI, PORSCHE, AUDI, all part of the Volks Wagon family…
ROLLS ROYCE, BMW, MINI COPPER… GERMAN…
MERCEDES BENZ… GERMAN…
And besides, the German’s invented the automobile….
11/10, 4:08 PM
posted by:
yarddog82abn
And don’t forget the AUTOBAHN…
11/10, 8:52 PM
posted by:
DrFill
ALS
Turn off the fryer!
THE FRIES ARE BURNING!
DrFill
11/10, 10:01 PM
posted by:
idrinorbarsaku
ahhh, the AUTOBAHN, mans greatest invention…also the scariest when you go on for the first time
11/11, 8:48 AM
posted by:
Need more oil for GM
Hey Dr Filled with crap, looks like Toyota buyers and salesidiots like yourself are waking up to realize that GM vehicles are FAR superior to your POS Toyodas!!!
http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f72/sold-equinox-twist-85224/
Read it and weep jackasss!!!!
Don’t get hit by a runaway Toyota on your way to the janitors office!
GM. An American Revolution
11/11, 7:49 PM
posted by:
Need more oil for the VW Group
Excellent, VW overtakes General Craptors and Crapota to assume its rightful place at the top.
VW. A European Invasion.
11/12, 9:13 PM
posted by:
oldraven
Nicely Done!