Volkswagen eyes #1 spot

Volkswagen could be set to become the world's #1 car maker if the nine-month tally is anything to go by.

Reports from Germany show that the Volkswagen Group produced 4.4 million vehicles for the first nine months of 2009. The German car group's closest rival and 2008's #1 automaker, Toyota, managed to produce roughly four million units. Volkswagen's original plan to overtake GM and Toyota for global sales was originally met with incredulity, but, with a bit of help from scrappage and the GFC, Wolfsburg looks like they'll get the job done. Whether their stay in the number one spot is sustainable remains in doubt though.

Here is the current top four:

1. Volkswagen Group: 4.4 million units
2. Toyota: 4.0 million units
3. Ford Motor Company: 3.7 million units
4. General Motors: 3.6 million units

One of the areas the Volkswagen Group may have gained ground on its Japanese rival is in its heartland, where various Western European countries enacted scrappage schemes that helped prop up monthly car sales during the worst of the global financial crisis in the first and second quarter of the year.

Another move has come from Ford, overtaking arch-rival General Motors as its new Fiesta continues to gain ground in international markets. Ford reported some 3.7 million units produced compared to GM's 3.6 million units for the first nine months of the year.

With the worst of the GFC seemingly over, new car sales are expected to improve throughout 2010.

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