Sometimes You Wake Up and You’re Suddenly the World’s Top Automaker

The Volkswagen Group had originally set 2016 for their rise to the pinnacle of the auto industry. They’re half a decade early, though. Various industry analysts project the German company to bludgeon both General Motors and Toyota this year to win the auto champion of the world title. Bloomberg News calculated VW’s 2011 annual sales of brand spanking new whips, hoopties and rides to be between 8 and 8.1 million. GM will extend approximately 7.5 million new titles to folks, with Toyota likely selling 7.3 million.

Volkswagen’s impressive 20% increase in Chinese sales is one of the primary reasons for the success, along with doubling its output in India. Whether the company’s famed hippie association is exported from America via the Bug, Beetle and Bus is unknown. But here’s to hoping wide swaths of these quickly developing nations internalize some of that love the earth, peace to you and me vibe.