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The world’s biggest carmakers

Volkswagen was the world’s largest car producer in 2022, based on revenue.

The German automaker, which also owns Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Man, Porsche, Seat, and Skoda, generated a total of R4.68 trillion according to All Top Everything, but it did not produce the most cars of any brand on the market.

That accolade goes to Toyota – comprising the Toyota as well as Lexus, Daihatsu, Hino, and Ranza brands – which produced nearly 10 million cars last year.

Its revenue was also not far off from VW, as Toyota generated R4.59 trillion in 2022.

Third place went to luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz, which produced significantly fewer cars at 2.8 million units but still generated as much as R3.24 trillion.

Fourth place is another badge that South Africans should be very familiar with, this being Ford with 4.2 million units produced and a revenue of R2.26 trillion.

Fifth place then went to Honda, which produced more cars than Ford last year but had a slightly lower profit of R2.22 trillion.

Big bucks

These were the 10 biggest car makers in 2022, ranked according to their total revenue.

Click on the underlined names for more information.


1. Volkswagen AG

  • Revenue – R4.68 trillion
  • Cars produced in 2022 – 8.9 million units
  • Year founded – 1937
  • Place of origin – Wolfsburg, Germany
  • Number of employees worldwide – 307,000
  • Owned brands – Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, MAN, Porsche, SEAT, Skoda, VW


2. Toyota Motor Corporation

  • Revenue – R4.59 trillion
  • Cars produced in 2022 – 9.5 million units
  • Year founded – 1937
  • Place of origin – Aichi, Japan
  • Number of employees worldwide – 366,000
  • Owned brands – Daihatsu, Hino, Lexus, Ranz, Toyota


3. Mercedes-Benz AG

  • Revenue – R3.24 trillion
  • Cars produced in 2022 – 2.8 million units
  • Year founded – 1926
  • Place of origin – Stuttgart, Germany
  • Number of employees worldwide – 288,000
  • Owned brands – Mercedes-Benz, Smart


4. Ford Motor Company

  • Revenue – R2.26 trillion
  • Cars produced in 2022 – 4.2 million units
  • Year founded – 1903
  • Place of origin – Dearborn, United States
  • Number of employees worldwide – 186,000
  • Owned brands – Ford, Lincoln


5. Honda Motor Company

  • Revenue – R2.22 trillion
  • Cars produced in 2022 – 4.4 million units
  • Year founded – 1948
  • Place of origin – Tokyo, Japan
  • Number of employees worldwide – 211,000
  • Owned brands – Acura, Honda


6. General Motors

  • Revenue – R2.17 trillion
  • Cars produced in 2022 – 6.8 million units
  • Year founded – 1908
  • Place of origin – Detroit, United States
  • Number of employees worldwide – 155,000
  • Owned brands – Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC


7. BMW AG

  • Revenue – R2.08 trillion
  • Cars produced in 2022 – 2.3 million units
  • Year founded – 1908
  • Place of origin – Munich, Germany
  • Number of employees worldwide – 133,000
  • Owned brands – BMW, Mini, Rolls-Royce


8. SAIC Motor Corporation

  • Revenue – R1.9 trillion
  • Cars produced in 2022 – 5.6 million units
  • Year founded – 1955
  • Place of origin – Shanghai, China
  • Number of employees worldwide – 145,000
  • Owned brands – Maxus, MG, Nanjing, Roewe, SAIC


9. Stellantis N.V.

  • Revenue – R1.85 trillion
  • Cars produced in 2022 – 6.2 million units
  • Year founded – 2021
  • Place of origin – Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • Number of employees worldwide – 300,000
  • Owned brands – Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Chrysler, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, Vauxhall


10. Hyundai Motor Company

  • Revenue – R1.65 trillion
  • Cars produced in 2022 – 4.9 million units
  • Year founded – 1967
  • Place of origin – Seoul, South Korea
  • Number of employees worldwide – 105,000
  • Owned brands – Genesis, Hyundai, Ioniq, Kia


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