Toyota closes in on GM with record-high global output in 2006

TOKYO January 27, 2007; Japan Today reported that Toyota Motor Corp said Friday its global group production leapt 9.5% to an all-time high of 9,017,786 vehicles in 2006, closing in further on the world's top carmaker General Motors Corp, which is estimated to have a 2006 output of 9.18 million units.

With GM still stuck in the doldrums, there is a real possibility that Toyota will replace the American carmaker as the world's No. 1 automaker in 2007, industry observers say.