Toyota overtakes GM's sales; emerges top auto seller in the world

21 January 2009

What has been expected for quite some time now, has now become official. General Motors (GM) Corp.'s 77-year run as the world's largest-selling automaker has come to an end, beaten by Toyota Motor Corp.

Detroit-based GM announced today that it sold 8.35 million cars and trucks across the globe in 2008 - a 10.8 per cent decline compared with 2007. Toyota sold 622,000 more cars and trucks throughout the world.

The Japanese automaker announced that its global sales number was 8.972 million in 2008 - a 4 per cent decline compared with a year earlier.

Excluding mini-vehicle maker Daihatsu Motor and truck unit Hino Motors, in both of which Toyota holds majority stakes, Toyota's global sales fell 5 per cent to 7.9 million vehicles. Daihatsu's sales declined 4 per cent to 866,000 vehicles, and Hino's declined 3 per cent to 110,000 vehicles.

GM sales analyst Mike DiGiovanni said during a conference call today morning that the seasonally adjusted annual US sales rate will fall below 10 million vehicles in January. That would be the first time below that benchmark since 1982.

Industrywide US sales came in just over the 10 million sales pace in each month of the last quarter of 2008 despite a sharp plunge in demand that left sales down 35 per cent from year ago levels.