Volkswagen World’s Top Auto Manufacturer for 2016

Volkswagen pic
Volkswagen
Image: forbes.com

The founder and co-owner of development firm Pinnacle Hills in Rogers, Arkansas, Bill Schwyhart also had a successful career as an auto dealer. Through Hart Motor Co., Bill Schwyhart sold a number of vehicle brands including Volkswagen.

The German automaker Volkswagen grabbed the top spot as the world’s largest automobile manufacturer for 2016. While the first position had belonged to Toyota Motors for a number of years, Volkswagen produced 10,312,400 vehicles from January to December 2016, beating Toyota’s 10,213,486. The German automaker improved by 3.8 percent over its 2015 production output of 9,930,500 vehicles, despite the serious legal problems it faced over falsifying diesel engine emission figures.

Sales performance in the United States were very impressive, with Volkswagen of America, Inc., reporting 37,229 units delivered in December 2016, a 20.3 percent increase over December 2015 sales. Aside from the Volkswagen brand, the car company’s other global brands include Porsche and Audi.