Not surprisingly, the release of V-Facts car industry sales figures for 2024 early this week showed Toyota to once again dominate the new vehicle market, recording 241,296 sales, its 22 consecutive year of market leadership. Almost 1 in 5 cars sold last year was a Toyota with hybrid electric vehicles making up close to half the company’s annual tally. The mid-size Toyota RAV 4 was the top selling SUV for the fifth consecutive year with 58,718 sales, close to double the number sold in 2023, also becoming the country’s best selling hybrid vehicle. Clearly, whilst the overall car market achieved its best ever result last year on the back of strong sales in the first half, the market was far more subdued in the second half and faces a tough start this year off the back of several economic challenges. I’m David Berthon.

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