Toyota fends off VW to remain world’s biggest automaker

Toyota warded off Volkswagen to remain the world's top-selling automaker for a third consecutive year, driven by record U.S. deliveries of its SUVs.

Worldwide sales for Toyota, including its Hino Motors and Daihatsu units, climbed 3 percent to 10.23 million vehicles last year, according to a company statement. Volkswagen last week reported a 4.2 percent gain to 10.14 million vehicles, including its two heavy-truck units. General Motors followed with 9.92 million sales, up 2.1 percent.

Surging demand for sport-utility vehicles including the compact RAV4 and mid-size Highlander paced Toyota's U.S. market share gain last year, spurring plans to boost local production and exports from Japan in 2015. As Volkswagen and GM add factories to bolster their already-dominant position in China, President Akio Toyoda's strategy to forgo building new car plants until at least next year could result in the first shakeup in auto-sales leadership since 2011.

'Their focus is not No. 1,” said Peggy Furusaka, a Tokyo-based auto-credit analyst at Moody's Investors Service. 'Toyota is more concerned about keeping profitability than chasing numbers. So for coming years, I wouldn't be surprised to see Toyota selling fewer cars than VW.”

Toyota forecasts a 1 percent decline in annual sales to 10.15 million vehicles in 2015, the Toyota City, Japan-based carmaker said in a statement today. Volkswagen and GM haven't announced projections for this year.

Toyota is predicting a decline in sales this year because of an expected slump in demand in Japan, where the consumption tax increase last year had brought forward many purchases, spokeswoman Kayo Doi said.

Last year, Toyota's sales gained in the U.S., Europe, China and Brazil while deliveries in Thailand and Indonesia slumped, according to the company.