With 4.4 million cars rolling out of its factories since January this year, Volkswagen-Porsche managed to edge Toyota out of the top spot in terms of production.

Volkswagen-Porsche’s success can be contributed to several factors. In July, nearly a quarter of the group’s global sales came from a range of VW models made specifically for the Chinese market. China lowered sales taxes on cars, effectively boosting demand for this vehicles. The group also benefited from cash-for-clunkers programs in Germany and Britain.

According to IHS Global Insight, though, Toyota may have indirectly had a hand in VW-Porsche’s vicory. Producing just 4 million cars this year, the Japanese auto make decided to halve its output during the first quarter of 2009.

“That extremely hard brake has been keeping Toyota behind Volkswagen by quite a margin. Due to government incentiveas, Volkswagen was not forced to decelerate so hard,” said Christoph Stürmer, director at IHS Global Insight.

Source: Guardian