VW top global sales chart

It may be embroiled in a global emissions scandal, but Volkswagen is still the best-selling automaker for the first quarter of 2016. Bloomberg figures have revealed that the German company sold 2.49 million vehicles in the first months of the year, with Toytoa in second on 2.46m and General Motors third on 2.36m. However, the earthquakes in Japan impacted Toyota sales, with a one-week stoppage in February slowing down production – another 80,000 vehicles will also be affected. Volkswagen also had a 0.8 per cent jump in deliveries versus Q1 2015, with volume growing in Europe and Asia. The numbers in the United States were not so positive however, with North American deliveries dropping 2.1 per cent in the first quarter. Volkswagen brokered a deal with the US government to settle diesel violations last week.