"Volkswagen is bent on displacing Toyota as the world's biggest car company—and it just may succeed
When Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn said two years ago that he was determined to zoom past Toyota to become the world's biggest automaker, the notion seemed laughable. At the time, the German automaker sold 3 million fewer vehicles than Toyota, was losing ground in the U.S., and had a reputation for iffy quality. Toyota, then set to pass General Motors as the best-selling carmaker on the planet, seemed unassailable.
Today Toyota is vulnerable, and Winterkorn's ambitions seem a lot less outlandish. In November, for the first time, VW built more cars than its Japanese rival. Toyota still sells more each year, but VW has closed the gap to less than 1.5 million cars. Quality continues to be an issue for VW in the U.S., but Toyota is the one suffering negative headlines after a series of embarrassing recalls. Toyota's CEO—in an act of extreme self-flagellation—has even said his company's best days may be behind it.
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From: BusinessWeek.com
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