This is the best-selling car brand in the world
- There are plenty of carmakers in the running for best-selling brand
- The figures show it’s a pretty closely run race
- But only one brand can be the winner
Published on Jan 30, 2025 at 9:22 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Jan 30, 2025 at 4:53 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
The automotive manufacturing market is worth an estimated $2.95 trillion – but which is the best-selling car brand worldwide?
In recent years, there’s been a fair amount of change within the industry.
EVs and hybrids have grown in popularity, which was highlighted when the Tesla Model Model Y was revealed to be the best selling car of 2023.
But, of course, combustion engines are still the top choice for most motorists and accounted for 84 percent of passenger vehicle sales in the US in 2023.
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Which is the best-selling car brand?
As we head further into 2025, sales data across the industry has been analyzed to reveal which models have sold the most and which brands have been performing the best.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that the best-selling car brand has a long history and has gained a solid reputation for producing reliable and quality vehicles – you don’t become the best in the world by selling lemons, after all.
It also makes just about every sort of car you can think of, from sportscars to family-friendly sedans and just about everything in between.
And, naturally, it is also one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world with a few production records under its belt.
Toyota claimed the top spot once again
For the fifth year in a row, Toyota has been crowned the best-selling car brand in the world.
Although the Japanese carmaker is yet to share its full sales results for last year, up to November Toyota and its subsidiaries — Lexus, Daihatsu, and Hino — had sold a staggering 9,857,938 vehicles worldwide.
Established back in 1937, Toyota is an absolute behemoth in the automotive industry.
In 2012, it became the world’s first car manufacturer to produce more than 10 million vehicles in a year.
And in 2023, Toyota proudly announced that its total production had hit a mind-boggling 300 million vehicles since it launched.
Toyota, which is currently creating a futuristic ‘living laboratory’ city, also had the best-selling car of 2024, with its ever-popular Toyota Corolla.
Over a million Corolla models were reportedly sold last year, just ahead of the Tesla Model Y, which sold 973,463.
What were the runners up?
Nipping at the heels of Toyota for the best-selling car brand title was the Volkswagen Group.
The German marque published its annual sales report, which revealed it had sold 9,239,500 vehicles.
This is a slight drop – 2.3 percent – in its sales for the previous year.
Interestingly, and perhaps showing a knock-on effect of the cost of living crisis, Toyota also reported a drop in sales of 3.6 percent.
Although official figures are yet to be confirmed, it looks as though the Hyundai Motor Group will be the third best-selling car brand of the year.
It sold 7.23 million vehicles in 2024, which is one percent down on last year.
Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Across her career she's covered a wide variety of topics, including celebrity, cryptocurrency, politics, true crime and just about everything in between.
