Saturday, August 6, 2011

Toyota No Longer #1 Drops to #3

Yep, it's true, after three years as #1, Toyota drops to #3.


Carscoop has the story


"Well, it was almost certain to happen after the March 11 earthquake and Tsunami hit Japan causing multiple problems to the country's automotive industry. Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker, saw its production drop by 23% to 3.37 million units for the first half of the year - and includes sales of Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino vehicles. 

As a result, the Japanese company lost the title of the world’s largest automaker that it held since 2008 to General Motors, which saw its sales rise by 8.9% to 4.536 million units for the first six months of 2011. For the time being, second place goes to the Volkswagen Group which sold 4.13 million units worldwide." 


I wonder what the odds UK bookies are giving for Toyota to return to #2 in 2012? It might be hard to conceive, but with the German economy steaming right along and the Japanese economy mired in the doldrums and our debt at 200%+ of GDP, it's hard to imagine that Japan can get back on top anytime soon.


Monday's Nikkei stock market opening, after the USA credit rating getting cut, should be an interesting fireworks display to watch.

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