Toyota sells 5.47 million vehicles in H1 to outpace VW, retains crown as world's best-seller

Japan's Toyota Motor Corp sold a record 5,467,218 vehicles globally in the first half of 2021, up 31.3 percent on-year, to outpace German archrival Volkswagen AG and retain its crown as the world's best-selling automaker.

The figure surpassed its previous record sales for the first half, set in 2019, of 5.31 million global vehicle sales.

It is the second year in a row for Toyota to be the world's top automaker in the first six months.

Toyota enjoyed robust sales in the US and China that lifted Toyota's overseas sales to a record 4.3 million vehicles, up 36.5 percent on-year.

In Japan, Toyota sold 1.17 million vehicles during the period, up 15 percent on-year.

Toyota's sales figure includes those sold by its subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor Co and Hino Motors Ltd.

Another factor for Japanese carmaker's success was being able to "limit" the impact of the global semiconductor shortage.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen sold 4,978,200 vehicles in the same period, up 27.9 percent from a year earlier.

In 2020, Toyota reclaimed its crown from Volkswagen as the top-selling automaker for the first time in five years.