Toyota Overtakes Ford in U.S. Sales

Washington DC January 4, 2008; The AIADA newsletter reported that fifty years after Toyota Motor Corp.'s first tentative foray into the U.S. market, the Japanese automaker has soared past Ford Motor Co. to claim the title of No. 2 car company in the U.S.

Though 2007 was a tough year for the entire industry, Toyota seemed unstoppable. The automaker not only toppled Ford from the pedestal it had occupied for 75 years, but it also is poised to surge past General Motors to become the world's largest automaker in 2008.

The Detroit News reports that Toyota's U.S. sales increased 3.1 percent in 2007, with 2.6 million vehicles sold in the U.S., compared with 2.5 million in 2006. The industry as a whole saw sales drop 2.5 percent from 16.6 million units in 2006 to 16.1 million units last year.

Toyota was characteristically modest about its gains. "We don't pay a lot of attention to rankings," said Toyota's group vice president of corporate communications, Irv Miller. "What's more important to us is maintaining our position with consumers."