Based on simple production stats, Volkswagen is now the world's largest automaker. Over the first nine months of 2009, VW produced 4.4 million units, while Toyota cranked out 4 million even. (Ford came in third at 3.7 million.) We're not sure how long VW will remain at the top of the heap, since much of its production and sales have been driven by government-run incentive programs in Europe, and many those programs have now ended. But even if the company's victory is fleeting, VW can technically say that it achieved its goal of becoming the world's largest automaker nearly ten years ahead of its stated 2018 deadline. [AutoCar]