Toyota could lay claim to the title of world's No. 1 automaker Tuesday, knocking General Motors from the perch it held for more than 70 years.

The Japanese giant moved up on the basis of surpassing GM in quarterly sales for the first time, the Wall Street Journal said. Industry analysts say it's only a matter of time before Toyota outdoes GM in annual sales.

Toyota sold 2.348 million vehicles worldwide in the January-to-March period, topping the 2.26 million vehicles sold by GM in that period.

High gas prices have been steadily luring U.S. motorists to Toyota's smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles and away from GM's larger trucks and sport utility vehicles. Toyota's Lexus is the top-selling luxury car in the United States.

Detroit's Big Three automakers have been struggling. GM and Ford posted huge losses while DaimlerChrysler is for sale.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International


Publication date: 24 April 2007   

Source: UPI-1-20070424-09073300-bc-us-cars.xml

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