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Monday 26 October 2015 11:30 am

Toyota overtakes Volkswagen as world’s biggest carmaker by sales

By: Jessica Morris

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Toyota has displaced German manufacturer Volkswagen as the world's biggest carmaker by sales.

The Japanese carmaker sold 7.49m vehicles in the first three quarters of 2015, putting it ahead of VW's 7.43m.

It comes after VW inched ahead of Toyota in the first six months of this year, having sold 5.02m vehicles to VW's 5.04m.

Read more: What Volkswagen scandal? German business confidence stays strong in October

VW is engulfed in an emissions scandal which came to light towards the end of September, with 8.5m cars to be recalled in the EU. Despite this, VW's European car sales swelled in September, adding 8.4 per cent annually.

Toyota first took the top spot from General Motors in 2008, and it's kept it every year since, except 2011 when General Motors was the top seller after a tsunami in north-eastern Japan disrupted Toyota's production.

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