Toyota Leads Global Sales in 2023, Despite 8% Decline but Tops Thailand

Toyota announced that its global sales in 2023 reached 11.3 million units, setting a new record with a year-on-year increase of 7.2%. Despite Toyota's slow transformation in the field of new energy and its slow deployment of pure electric products, relying on the gasoline and hybrid market, coupled with years of accumulated reputation, it still achieved the global top spot and has been ranked first globally for four consecutive years.

In the Thai market, Toyota still holds the top position. In 2023, Toyota's domestic sales accounted for 34% of total car sales, maintaining a very large market share, but the total sales volume decreased by 8% compared to 2022. Perhaps some consumers have shifted to the pure electric vehicle market, where Toyota still lacks a strong presence in Thailand.

This is likely related to the fact that the proportion of pure electric vehicles in various countries' markets is still relatively small. Even though our market share of pure electric vehicles reached 12% in 2023, on the one hand, a rapid advance in a certain year cannot well explain the problem, and the future of this market still needs further observation. On the other hand, it is difficult to determine whether pure electric vehicles will definitely be the future direction of development and the ultimate replacement solution.

Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda has repeatedly criticized pure electric vehicles. Recently, he stated: "No matter how much progress electric vehicles make, hybrid vehicles, fuel cell electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel vehicles will still account for 70% of market sales." This means that Akio Toyoda believes pure electric vehicles will only account for 30% of the total sales of the future automotive market.

In response, Musk expressed his frustration.

Are major automotive brands betting heavily on the pure electric vehicle market?