Tokyo - Toyota is narrowly holding onto the title of world's biggest car company.
The Japanese giant has reported first-quarter sales of 2.52 million vehicles globally, outpacing Volkswagen and General Motors, despite weakening demand at home.
Toyota’s numbers, down 2.5 percent from a year ago, come after Volkswagen earlier said it had moved 2.49 million vehicles in the quarter, while GM shifted 2.4 million units, both up from a year earlier.
Toyota expects sales this year to slip to 10.15 million from a record 10.23 million vehicles in 2014, owing to a shaky outlook for Japan, concerns about a China slowdown and as it beefs up its focus on quality after a string of safety scandals.
VW TO TAKE THE CROWN?
That means Volkswagen could shift into pole position this year as the German automaker rides momentum in emerging economies that could see it take the lead in global vehicle sales for the first time ever.
Toyota broke GM's decades-long reign as the world's top carmaker in 2008 but lost the crown three years later as Japan's 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster hammered production and disrupted the supply chains of the country's car companies.
However, in 2012 it once again overtook its Detroit rival.
Thursday's sales figures come a week after Toyota ended a freeze on building new factories by unveiling plans for a $1.0 billion plant in rising industry powerhouse Mexico and another production line in China
Toyota began operating a new Thai plant in 2013, but since then it has halted investment as the global car market struggled with oversupply and weak demand.
TOYOTA TO CUT COSTS
Despite the expansion, Toyota chief Akio Toyoda said his family firm would not embark on unrestrained expansion, as it overhauls its production methods to slash development costs.
While the car giant is set to log a record $18 billion fiscal year profit next month, largely due to a weak yen and strong North American sales, Toyoda said the company must do more to protect its bottom line in a fast-changing market.
“An increase in production does not mean an undisciplined pursuit of more,” he said.
Toyota, among other major carmakers, has been struggling to recover a reputation for safety after the recall of millions of cars around the world for various problems, including an exploding air bag crisis at supplier Takata.
There are also growing fears about the entire industry's prospects in China owing to concerns about the health of the world's number-two economy.
AFP