Resurgent GM closes gap with market leader Toyota

General Motors Co sold more cars and trucks in China last year than it did in the US, for the first time in the company's 102-year history. A resurgent GM reported on Monday that its worldwide sales last year came within 30,000 of beating Japan's Toyota, which took a big hit because of safety recalls.

Despite GM's growth in China, Toyota Motor Corp held on to the title of world's largest automaker.

GM is hiring, producing more and basking in a better reputation for quality. It expects to sell even more cars and trucks this year, putting it within reach of the title of biggest in the world - an honour it held for 76 years before losing it in 2008.

GM said that it sold 2.35 million vehicles in fast-growing China, about 1,36,000 more than it sold in the US, with China sales surging 29 per cent as an expanding middle class gained wealth. Sales in the US, including heavy-duty vehicles, rose 6.3 per cent as GM continued to rebound from its 2009 stay in bankruptcy protection.

GM expects its sales growth to continue, and industry analysts say it may once again dethrone Toyota as the global sales leader this year. GM is adding a third shift to a pick-up truck assembly plant in Flint, Mich, to meet an expected increase in demand as the US economic recovery continues.

Pick-up truck sales in the US were up 16 per cent last year to 1.6 million vehicles, and they're still among the top-selling vehicles in the country. GM says small businesses are beginning to buy pick-ups again after staying out of the market for nearly two years.