Record sales for VW, GM on top

General Motors is the world’s top-selling car manufacturer for the first time since 2007. The difference is that unlike 2007, the brand is also profitable, posting a £4.6billion profit on the back of 9.03 million sales. It’s a position that came sooner than expected, after the brand was declared bankrupt in mid 2009.

Next best was VW, which has made no secret of its desire to become the world’s number one car maker. The group set a record of 8.16 million sales, with VW-badged cars making up a record 5.09 million, while Audi also produced its best sales result ever with 1.3 million sold. What’s remarkable about VW’s climb up the sales ladder is, unlike GM, which posted a £355million loss in Europe, it actually posted growth in Europe, despite an overall market decline of five per cent. On top of that, VW recorded a pre-tax profit of £15.9billion – triple GM’s profit and double its own 2010 result.

Toyota was toppled from its perch by GM and VW due to supply woes from the natural disasters in key manufacturing bases in Japan and Thailand. The Japanese car maker reported a sales drop of 8.8 per cent, with 5.5 million sales in the last three quarters of 2011, and revenue was down 57.5 per cent. On the positive side, its sales actually grew by 2.5 per cent in Europe.

Europe’s second biggest car maker, PSA Peugeot Citroen sold 3.5 million cars and saw its income drop 48 per cent with a loss of £78million. PSA points to an unfavourable segment mix, currency fluctuations as well as supply problems from Japanese component makers, prompting an ‘asset disposal program’. It also heightened rumours that a partnership with General Motors will be announced soon.