The three-way battle for automotive supremacy rages on. After a major set back caused by the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan last year, Toyota has finally found a way to push ahead of General Motors and Volkswagen to become the world's largest automaker in the first half of 2012.
From a new Bloomberg report, Toyota has sold 4.9 million units in just the first six months of 2012, an impressive 34 percent bounce back from the tragedies this time last year. In total, the Japanese automaker has outsold GM by 300,000 and Volkswagen by a wide 520,000 margin.
Toyota's traction has much to do with its investment in the North American and Japanese markets. Somehow, critical success in America and Asia has offset the disappointing quarter in Europe. Struggling to grapple with the economic crisis in Europe, global GM sales only went up by 2.9 percent while VW moved by 8.9 percent.
Does this mean that Toyota is pulling away with the lead? Hardly. According to IHS Automotive market analyst Rebecca Lindland, the sales performance during Q2 may be an abnormal spike reaction that occurs after a massive dip caused by the natural disasters last year. Lindland says, "They are still restocking dealerships, pulling in consumers who may have waited... but that positive impact will trail off as the year progresses."
While it's been said that it's lonely at the top, this is surely not the case for the auto industry. In just the past couple of years, Toyota snatched the top spot from GM amid the American financial crisis of 2008. However, GM and Volkswagen clawed positions from Toyota after disaster hit Japan last year and struck the industry of both its manufacturers and suppliers. Competition for supremacy amongst the three brands have made the top anything but lonely.
