General Motors Corp. held the title of the world's largest automaker for 80 years until its
bankruptcy filing, and now Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM) and Volkswagen AG are vying for the automotive industry pole position. But it looks like the boys in Wolfsburg, Germany, have a reason to hit the beer gardens as Volkswagen has taken the lead. The German auto giant has passed Toyota to become the world's largest automaker, thanks in large part to a merger,
a Guardian story noted.
However, there is a catch: In order to edge out Toyota, Volkswagen must count the combined sales with Porsche AG. Between the
two German companies, they have built 4.4 million cars to date, which is about 400,000 more than Toyota.
The milestone was helped not only by dealmaking, but a slowing global economy. Toyota
halved its production earlier this year. And while Toyota benefited from America's cash-for-clunkers program, VW benefited much more from the European versions of the program. Volkswagen also edged out Toyota in China, where the government attempted to spur demand by cutting taxes on car sales.
This is not the first time the guys in Wolfsburg had an excuse to celebrate a major milestone. Last year, amid Porsche's pursuit of Volkswagen, VW briefly became the most valuable company in the world -- only a short while after VW sped past Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) for the No. 3 slot in global sales. -
Matthew Wurtzel
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