Volkswagen has sped past Japanese rival Toyota in global sales in the first half of 2011 as it readies to launch the Chattanooga-made Passat and a redesigned Beetle to gain U.S. market share.
VW now trails just General Motors in its bid to become the world’s No. 1 automaker by sales by 2018.
In the first six months of the year, Detroit-based GM sold 4.5 million vehicles worldwide, up 8.9 percent from the same period in 2010, company figures show.
VW, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany, posted record sales of 4.1 million vehicles in the period, up 11.1 percent from 2010, the company reported.
Toyota was third at 3.7 million, down 11 percent.