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Toyota holds onto crown of World's Largest Automaker

Although there were hints and allegations that the Volkswagen Group might have taken the global sales crown for 2014, the final tally puts Toyota at the top with 10.23 million sales in 2014. We should really say it keeps Toyota at the top, since that makes three years in a row the Japanese company has been No. 1. Volkswagen Group came in second with 10.14 million units sold, General Motors in third with 9.92 million units sold. This the first time for both Toyota and Volkswagen to pass 10 million sales in a single year. Toyota, including its Hino and Daihatsu divisions, did it with a three-percent increase in company-wide sales on the back of strong demand in Japan and the US. Its strength in developed markets might be the reason it loses the title this year, though; Toyota forecasts a two-percent gain in sales outside of Japan, but a nine-percent drop in its home market because of a new consumption tax that encouraged buyers to purchase before the end of last year. On top of that, turmoil in Southeast Asian economies like Thailand and Indonesia depressed sales in 2014 and they're facing more headwinds. The company envisions 10.15 million sales in 2015. Volkswagen, on the other hand, "has a jet engine strapped to its back called 'China,'" where Toyota is out-of-sorts. Volkswagen Group sales fell 2.9 percent in the US last year, while Toyota gained 6.2 percent here. But Volkswagen roped in 3.7 million sales in China, a 12-percent increase. Toyota enjoyed a huge bump of 12.5 percent in China, but that only got it to 1.03 million units, missing its yearly target and leading to trouble with its Chinese dealers over unsold inventory. With Toyota on the Chinese sidelines while Volkswagen guns for No. 1 status and pledges more production capacity in China – sales there are expected to top 25 million units this year – it looks like this could be the year the VW Group takes over the lead. That would be three years ahead of its original target of 2018. An analyst in Japan said Toyota is more focused on "keeping profitability than chasing numbers" – profitability is an issue for VW right now – so Toyota might not be back at the top "for [the] coming years." News Source: Bloomberg, Automotive News - sub. req. Earnings/Financials GM Toyota Volkswagen Car Buying Daihatsu sales volkswagen group

VW admits 430,000 2016 models have implausible CO2 ratings

Volkswagen finally explained more details about its CO2 rating scandal in Europe and admitted that 430,046 of the estimated 800,000 affected vehicles with "implausible" figures came from the 2016 model year. They included some from Audi, Seat, Skoda, VW, and VW Commercial Vehicles, according to the automaker's list (as a PDF). The problem mostly impacts diesel engines, but the inventory also shows some gasoline mills. VW will next determine the accurate CO2 emissions for these vehicles, and the German Federal Vehicle and Transport Authority will supervise that process to ensure the data's veracity. The automaker will also launch websites in Europe to let owners enter their model's VIN to check whether it's affected. Because governments there often link vehicle taxes and CO2 production, the company promises to work with regulators in each country to cover any fees that result from the inaccurate figures. VW announced the CO2 scandal earlier in November and estimated the equivalent of $2.2 billion to fix it at the time. A later report claimed that a group of engineers were responsible for fabricating the emissions data. They allegedly couldn't meet reduction goals from Martin Winterkorn, and between 2013 and this spring the workers did things like overinflate the tires during testing to achieve the desired results. VW is also closer to a fix in the diesel emissions scandal. According to an anonymous insider to Bloomberg, the company has a repair for the 1.6-liter engine that's reportedly neither very complex nor expensive. German regulators would still need to approve the solution before it could roll out to owners. Next step in clarifying the CO2 issue Affected Volkswagen Group models of the current model year have been identified Customers being informed via website Discussions with the authorities have begun The Volkswagen Group reports that the vehicles of the 2016 model year affected by the CO2 issue have been identified. There is thus now clarity about the new vehicles of the current model year out in the marketplace. On 3 November 2015, the Group had already reported that irregularities may have arisen in determining the CO2 figures for type approval of around 800,000 vehicles. This was identified during its own currently ongoing investigations and had been made public. The internal investigations into the current vehicles of the 2016 model year provide results for narrowing down the actually affected vehicles with implausible CO2 figures.

2014 Volkswagen XL1 [w/video]

World's Most Efficient Car Impresses, Not Without Compromises
Among our many duties at the recent Geneva Motor Show, we were offered a pretty exclusive drive in the new Volkswagen XL1 hyper-efficient plug-in diesel hybrid. There is so much that is interesting about a car like this reaching production from a major automaker that it's tough to know where to begin.
First off, you should know that - at least for this generation - there is absolutely no chance in Albuquerque that this "1-liter vehicle" (i.e. a vehicle that can burn just one liter of fuel to travel 100 kilometers, or 62.1 miles) will ever make it into the hands of North American customers. We, too, were having trouble imagining an XL1 in typical American traffic, surrounded by comparatively massive pickups and SUVs. The driving experience had us recalling a couple of weeks in 1999 when we drove the then-revolutionary Honda Insight hybrid on US roads. We keenly remember the feeling of being very small and vulnerable, even as we felt proudly green in our 61-mpg Tochigi pod. Thing is, the Volkswagen is smaller still, and nearly as light despite its more complex drivetrain and safety features.