In 2023, Toyota Group achieved a historic sales record, boosted by its subsidiaries Hino Motors and Daihatsu Motor, as well as a surge in sales from its luxury Lexus business, reaching a total of 11.2 million vehicles sold. This marked a significant increase from the 10.7 million vehicles sold in 2022.
Additionally, Toyota reported a remarkable 8.6% increase in worldwide production, reaching a record high of 11.5 million vehicles for the year. Exports also saw a record high, with a total of 8.9 million vehicles exported by all three groups.
Toyota’s parent-only vehicles, which include the namesake and Lexus brands, achieved a sales record of 10.3 million vehicles in the same year. Notably, petrol-electric hybrids accounted for about one-third of these sales, while battery electric vehicles constituted less than 1%.
Furthermore, Toyota revealed that over 3.4 million electrified vehicles were sold in 2023, representing an increase from just over 2.6 million in 2022, constituting 31.4% of all sales. This solidified Toyota’s position as the global leader in electrified vehicles, with significantly higher sales than BYD of China, which sold 3,024,417 vehicles (including battery and plug-in hybrids).
Lexus, a part of the Toyota Group, experienced exceptional growth in 2023, with sales surging by 132%. This increase was particularly driven by improved sales in the US, China, and Japan. Global Lexus sales reached an all-time high of 824,258 units for the year, with hybrids accounting for a record-breaking 47% of all sales. North American sales saw a remarkable 124% increase, Japanese sales rose by 113%, and sales in China more than doubled.
Comparatively, Volkswagen Group, ranked second, reported a 12% increase in deliveries in the same year, totaling 9.2 million cars, as supply chain bottlenecks eased following the pandemic. Volkswagen also noted a 21.1% increase in sales of its fully electric vehicles, totaling approximately 394,000 units in 2023. This figure narrowly surpassed the 387,000 electrified vehicles (all hybrids) sold by Lexus in the same year.