German car giant, Volkswagen Group, has beaten Toyota in the first six months of 2015 to become the world’s largest car-maker.
Selling 5.04 million vehicles, the Group’s key brands -- VW, Audi, Skoda, SEAT and Porsche -- beat the 5.02 million units Toyota managed over the same period.
Blaming a shrinking Chinese market and slower growth in Europe, Toyota posted sales 1.5 per cent down on last year.
VW Group, meanwhile, posted 0.5 per cent fewer sales but had far stronger growth in markets like Europe.
Volkswagen has set itself the target of becoming the world’s largest car-maker by 2018. The last time it sold more cars than Toyota was back in 2009 when it outsold the Japanese brand for nine months.
In comparison, General Motors over the first six months of 2015 sold 4.86 million vehicles, coming in at a solid third place.