TOKYO 

Japanese automotive giant Toyota Motors outdistanced its German rival Volkswagen in 2020, selling 9.53 million vehicles.

With these figures, Toyota took the title of the world's best-selling automotive company from Volkswagen, according to a press release on Thursday.

The Japan firm's vehicle sales, including its subsidiaries Daihatsu and Hino, dropped by 11.3% on a yearly basis in 2020, when the pandemic hit several economic activities.

Toyota's vehicle output also fell by 14.1% year-on-year in 2020 to 9.21 million units.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen sold 9.31 million vehicles in 2020, down 15.2% over the same period.

Last year, the European and the US automotive markets narrowed by 24.3% and 15%, respectively.

Volkswagen had taken the title in 2016 for the first time from Toyota.

*Writing by Gokhan Ergocun from Istanbul