Toyota is still the world’s top automaker, but with EV sales at just 1%, how long will it last?
Toyota maintained its title as the world’s top-selling automaker, with nearly 11 million vehicles sold in 2024. However, EV sales accounted for about 1% of Toyota’s global volume as it continued to lag the industry. With rivals like BYD and Hyundai closing in, how long can Toyota keep its spot at the top?
Toyota EV sales continued lagging in 2024 at only 1%
Toyota held onto the title for the fifth straight year after selling over 10.8 million vehicles in 2024. That includes its Daihatsu (compact cars), Hino (heavy-duty trucks and buses), and luxury Lexus brands.
Although it was enough to stay ahead of Volkswagen, which sold just over 9 million vehicles last year (-2.3% from 2023), Toyota’s global sales slipped for the first time in two years. The Japanese auto giant’s sales fell 3.7% from the roughly 11.2 million vehicles sold in 2023.
Toyota and Lexus brand sales were down 1.4% from 2023, at about 10.1 million units, also the first year-over-year decline in two years.
The lower total was mostly due to a 20% drop in domestic sales. Incorrect vehicle certifications caused Toyota to halt production of the popular Prius, Yaris Cross, and Corolla Fielder models.
Overseas sales helped offset the fallout with higher demand in North America and India. In other key markets, like China (-6.9%), Indonesia (-9.5%), and Thailand (-17.1%), Toyota said “the shift to new energy vehicles” and an “intensifying price competition” caused the lower sales total.
Despite hybrids reaching a record 40% share in 2024, Toyota’s EV sales lagged the industry. Last year, Toyota, including Lexus, sold just 139,892 pure EV models, accounting for just 1.4% of sales.
Volkswagen sold nearly 745,000 electric vehicles last year, or around 8% of sales, which is still on the lower end. And that’s down 3.4% from the 771,100 VW delivered in 2023.
While the two global auto leaders continue to lag in the shift to electric vehicles, others, such as BYD and Hyundai, are emerging as true global threats.
BYD outsold Nissan and Honda for the first time last year, with over 4.25 million passenger vehicles sold, up 41% from around 3 million in 2023. The Chinese EV leader surpassed Volkswagen in 2023 to become China’s largest car maker, and now it’s moving up the global ranks.
Hyundai Motor Group, the third top-selling automaker globally, sold over 7.2 million vehicles last year. Although sales were down 1% from 2023, Hyundai is closing the gap with Toyota and Volkswagen. The Hyundai and Kia brands both sold over 200,000 electric cars globally last year for an around.
Hyundai and Kia are launching several new EVs in key segments that are expected to see significant demand, including the three-row IONIQ 9 and low-cost Kia EV3 and Hyundai Inster SUVs.
Electrek’s Take
With new threats emerging, how long will Toyota hold onto the global sales lead? BYD is aggressively expanding overseas this year, with electric cars rolling out across nearly every segment, including entry-level pickup trucks, smart SUVs, luxury models, and electric supercars.
BYD sold more EVs in Japan than Toyota last year, its home market, and 2024 was BYD’s first full sales year in the country.
Hyundai is also preparing for a big year in 2025 with the updated 2025 IONIQ 5, IONIQ 9, and Inster EV arriving. Kia expects sales growth this year with the low-cost EV3 rolling out globally. Later this year, it will unveil the EV4, its highly anticipated entry-level electric sedan.
Meanwhile, Toyota continues delaying new EV launches and other major projects. Its long-awaited ultra-efficient EVs, expected next year, will not arrive until at least mid-2027.
With the industry moving toward all-electric vehicles, how long can Toyota delay the inevitable? As EV technology advances, hybrids will only be in style for much longer.
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Tesla has wiped off the 26,000 miles on the odometer of a Cybertruck in service, scratched the vehicle, and then returned it to the owner like nothing happened.
A Tesla Cybertruck owner in Oregon was quite surprised when he went to pick up his Cybertruck, which was in service to install a new lightbar, fix some panel gaps, and figure out an ABS alert that wouldn’t go away.
According to a thread on the Cybertruck Owners Club, Tesla had wiped the odometer clean on the Foundation Series ‘Cyberbeast’, which had over 26,000 miles on it.
The owner shared a video of the Cybertruck’s odometer going from 0 to 1 mile for the second time:
The odometer on the vehicle was wiped and both the app and service many also showed the same mileage.
The owner shared a screenshot of the app after 15 miles:
He went to the online forum for advice:
Anyone else have their odometer Thanos-snapped after a controller swap? Can Tesla unsnap it or am I forever “True Mileage Unknown”?
Interestingly, Tesla is currently being sued for allegedly messing with the odometers of its vehicles. However, the lawsuit is for accelerating the mileage, not reducing it, like in this case.
It was not the only surprise from this service visit for this Cybertruck owner.
The owner was not satisfied with the lightbar installation, which he claims has a half-inch gap on the passenger side while it is flush on the driver side. He wrote:
It’s basically smiling sideways at everyone.
It’s also unclear why Tesla was messing with the vehicle’s tailgate, but it ended up having a bolt moving around it, causing scratches and Tesla left a bolt unbolted:
At this point, the truck was returned with more problems than it had when it entered service.
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Nissan is on the brink of collapsing. After the Honda deal fell through, it looks like another Japanese automaker is tossing it a lifeline. As Nissan struggles to stay afloat, Toyota is emerging as a potential “backer” in a new tie-up.
Are Toyota and Nissan partnering?
“If we don’t take action now, the situation will only get worse,” Nissan’s President, Ivan Espinosa, said during a press conference on May 13.
Facing falling sales, ballooning debt, and slumping profits, Nissan introduced a new recovery plan last week, “Re:Nissan.” The struggling automaker aims to cut costs by 250 billion yen to return to profitability by FY 2026.
As part of its efforts to turn the business around, Nissan will cut 20,000 jobs by FY2027. It’s also abandoning plans to build a new EV battery facility in Japan. Seven other plants will be closed, including one in Thailand and two in Japan.
After its planned EV merger with Honda fell through in February, rumours surfaced that Nissan was scrambling to find another partner.
According to a new report from Japan’s MainiChi, a Toyota executive recently reached out to Nissan about a potential partnership. The tie-up could involve Toyota acting as Nissan’s “backer” to support it while it restructures.
Nissan and Toyota both unveiled a wave of new electric vehicles set to roll out over the next few years. The upgraded Nissan LEAF EV will arrive in the US and Canada later this year with more range, an NACS port, and a new crossover style. It will be one of ten new Nissan or Infiniti models to arrive by 2027.
In Europe, Nissan will launch the next-gen LEAF later this year, followed by the new Micra EV and Qashqai electric crossover. In 2026, the new Nissan Juke EV will join the lineup.
Meanwhile, Toyota’s upgraded bZ electric SUV (formerly the “bZ4X”) will arrive at US dealerships in the second half of 2025.
In 2026, the smaller C-HR electric SUV and rugged bZ Woodland EV will follow. By the end of the year, Europe will see three new Toyota electric SUVs: the C-HR+, Urban Cruiser, and upgraded bZ4X.
Electrek’s Take
Toyota already has a stake in several Japanese automakers, including Subaru (20%), Mazda (5.1%), Suzuki (4.6%), and Isuzu (5.9%), so backing Nissan wouldn’t come as a shock.
Espinosa said Nissan was open to new partnerships. Nissan’s chief said the company will continue collaborating with others, including Mitsubishi, which will use the upcoming LEAF as the basis for its new EV for North America.
Japanese carmakers have been notoriously slow in shifting to all-electric vehicles, which is now costing them in key overseas markets like Southeast Asia, Central and South America, and others.
Chinese EV leaders, like BYD, are quickly expanding overseas to drive growth this year. Next year, it will launch its first kei car (see the first spy shots), or mini EV, which is already being called “a huge threat” to Japan.
Pooling resources and teaming up may be the best (or only) option at this point. Can Toyota help Nissan turn things around? Or will it be too little, too late? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Check back soon for details. This is a developing story. We’ll keep you updated with the latest.
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