Even before diesel scandal bites, VW loses its sales crown

Frankfurt

VOLKSWAGEN'S reign as the world's biggest carmaker has been short-lived, and the company - in the throes of an emissions-cheating scandal - is bringing in a new head of corporate strategy.

Toyota published figures on Monday that showed it sold more vehicles in the first nine months of 2015 than Volkswagen, retaking the No 1 position. Only three months earlier, Volkswagen had surpassed Toyota for the first time and, however briefly, realised a long-held dream to become the world's biggest carmaker.