Toyota Motor Corp will likely fall to third-behind Volkswagen AG of Germany and the alliance of Nissan Motor Co, Mitsubishi Motors Corp and Renault SA of France-in global vehicle sales in 2017, based on sales data available for the first 11 months through November, reports japantoday.com.
In the 11-month period, worldwide sales of Toyota group brands rose 2.8 per cent from a year earlier to 9,474,000 vehicles, while Volkswagen, the world's largest automaker in 2016, increased sales by 3.9 per cent to 9,743,400 vehicles.
The combined sales of the Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors and Renault alliance were estimated at 9,601,916 vehicles.
Volkswagen's sales have been brisk in the Chinese and European markets, and the trend is likely to continue in December.
The annual sales of the Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors and Renault alliance are also expected to surpass Toyota's, bolstered by robust overseas markets and despite Nissan's domestic sales being hurt by an inspection scandal involving uncertified workers conducting final tests.
Toyota's domestic sales fared well but were almost flat from a year earlier in the key US market, where its sedans struggled with the popularity of big sport utility vehicles and trucks as gasoline prices remained around a six-year low.
For 2017, the Toyota group has upgraded its sales forecast by 102,000 vehicles to a record high 10,354,000, up 2 per cent from 2016 and the highest since 2014 when it sold 10,231,000 cars.
Last year Toyota ended its four-year reign as the world's top-selling automaker, outperformed by Volkswagen as it steadily recovered from the damage from a diesel emissions falsification scandal.
In 2016, General Motors Co ranked third in global sales and the Nissan-Renault alliance fourth.
Mitsubishi Motors' sales become part of the same alliance after Nissan bought a 34 per cent stake in late October 2016.
General Motors has not yet announced its sales for the 11-month period. But it could fall to fourth by sales in 2017 as its global sales for the nine months through September fell 2.2 per cent from the corresponding period last year.
