- Toyota is the world’s top-selling automaker for its fifth year, ahead of Volkswagen, BYD, and Honda
- But it can’t also boast the world’s best-selling vehicle — that one goes to Tesla
- In total Canadian sales in 2024, Toyota ranked third behind General Motors and Ford
Toyota has kept its title as the world’s top-selling automaker for the fifth year in a row, with 10.8 million vehicles finding new homes in 2024. That’s in spite of a 3.7% decline in its global sales from 11.2 million units in 2023, and a 13.8% drop in Japan. Globally, it held 10.7% of all auto sales. The figures include its Daihatsu compact cars and Hino Motors trucks.
Second place went to Volkswagen, with 4.93 million vehicles sold and 5.8% of the global market. Third place went to China-based BYD at 3.80 million – an increase of 41.6% over its sales in 2023 – and 4.5% market share. It was followed by Honda with 3.74 million vehicles; while Ford and Hyundai both came in at 3.69 million.
While Toyota took the crown overall, it didn’t claim the title of the top-selling model for 2024. That instead went to the Tesla Model Y, which sold 1.09 million copies worldwide and gave it the narrowest of leads over the Toyota Corolla, at 1.08 million. Third place went to the Toyota RAV4 with 1.02 million sales, while the Ford F-Series pickup took fourth with 903,454 copies.
These were followed in order by the Honda CR-V at 738,743; the Chevrolet Silverado at 639,889; the Hyundai Tucson at 609,014; the Toyota Camry at 580,297; the BYD Song at 574,351; while the Volkswagen Tiguan took the tenth spot at 543,351 units.
Much of Toyota’s sales decline in Japan is attributed to its pleading guilty last June to irregularities in its self-certification of emissions and/or safety testing — Honda, Mazda, and Suzuki did the same. Toyota had earlier discovered certification issues with Daihatsu and Hino, along with its auto parts and machinery manufacturing company. In 2024, Daihatsu’s sales declined by 38.3% from 2023 in Japan, and by 32.1% in other markets. Hino rose by 12.5% in Japan, but dropped by 7.1% in other markets. That 13.8% decline in Toyota/Lexus models in Japan was offset by the 8.7-million-plus vehicles sold outside that country, marking a 1% increase over 2023.
Volkswagen had a 2.3% decline in 2023 and reported that it intends to cut its costs, as well as get through a price war in China, a key market for it. Toyota also saw a 6.9% decline specifically in China in the face of price competition, but was buoyed by rising demand for hybrid vehicles in the United States. Within its Toyota and Lexus brands, hybrids (including plug-in hybrids, or PHEVs) accounted for 40.8% of sales, but only 1.4% of total sales were battery-electric.
While Toyota held the title worldwide, General Motors was the top seller in Canada in 2024, with 294,315 vehicles sold, an increase of 12% over 2023. Its top seller was the GMC Sierra at 60,188 units, nosing out the Chevrolet Silverado, its mechanical twin, at 54,016 copies. (While Chevy trucks vastly outsell their GMC equivalents in the U.S., they’re always very close in Canada.)
Ford was second with 278,579 units, an increase of 16% and aided by the 133,857 F-Series pickups it sold. Toyota was third at 238,934 vehicles, up 5% from 2023; its top seller was the RAV4 at 77,556 units. Volkswagen Group, in second place worldwide, hadn’t yet forwarded 2024 sales numbers to the list.
Other automakers posted double-digit increases in Canada for 2024, including Subaru at 24%; Mazda at 23%; Tesla at an estimated 22%; and Nissan at 13%. Among automakers reporting their figures (which excludes JaguarLand Rover, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen) three reported a sales drop in 2024 from 2023: BMW at -2%; Stellantis at -18%; and Rivian at -25%.
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