Toyota still the world's biggest car manufacturer Barring 2011, when it suffered production losses following Japan's tsunami disaster, Toyota has been number one every year since 2008, when it usurped long-time leader GM. The company's sales tally includes figures from its brands Lexus, Daihatsu and truck-maker Hino. More than one in 10 cars it sold last year were hybrids, accounting for an impressive 1.3 million units. Its home market of Japan is one of its strongest, with 2.3 million vehicles sold last year, the equivalent of Britain's entire new car market. GM's success was led by its worldwide Chevrolet brand, which sold just under 5 million last year. The brand is most popular in its home country of the US, with China coming second. However, Chevrolet failed to make its mark on the European market, and GM has said it will pull the famed bow-tie badge from the region by the end of 2015, leaving just Vauxhall/Opel to fly the GM flag. VW Group sales were up five per cent last year, but it wasn't enough to beat GM. The VW brand topped the company charts with sales of just under 6 million, with Audi next with 1.6 million. China was the company's biggest market by far, with sales of 3.3 million last year. VW is also strong in South America with just under a million sold.