Toyota Passes GM as World's Top Auto Maker

Washington DC April 24, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that Toyota Motor Corp. has surpassed General Motors in quarterly sales for the first time, making it the world's biggest auto maker.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Toyota sold 2.348 million vehicles world-wide in the January to March period, topping the 2.26 million vehicles that GM sold in the same three-month period. GM has been the world's No. 1 auto maker for more than 70 years.

While the sales figures released Tuesday are only quarterly results, they represent the first time Toyota has surpassed GM in global sales. Analysts say it is just a matter of time before the Japanese auto maker surpasses GM in its annual figures.

Toyota has been steadily grabbing market share from its Detroit-based rival in the key U.S. market, as high gas-prices lure Americans to Toyota's smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles such as the Camry, Corolla, and Prius hybrid and away from GM's larger trucks and sport-utility vehicles.

"Our only objective is for Toyota to be No. 1 in terms of quality. We'll let the numbers speak for themselves," a company spokesman says.