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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, July 24, 2008 Toyota poised to unseat No. 1 GM as world's top automaker by sales Associated Press TOKYO -- Toyota sold more than 4.8 million vehicles worldwide in the first half of the year, up 2 percent from the same period a year earlier, the Japanese automaker said Wednesday. That exceeded General Motors Corp.'s sales of 4.5 million vehicles in the same period, setting up Toyota to potentially end GM's 77-year run as the world's top automaker by sales. Toyota Motor Corp. spokesman Hideaki Homma said the company sold 4,817,941 vehicles globally during the first six months of the year. GM said it sold 4,540,409 vehicles, a decline of 3 percent from the first half of 2007. The Detroit automaker blamed the decline on economic pressures and labor disruptions in the U.S. market. But GM said it posted record-breaking sales in other regions, including Latin America, Asia and Europe. Automakers have been struggling lately to maintain sales momentum amid soaring motor fuel prices. Toyota has a reputation for high-mileage cars such as its gasoline-electric Prius hybrid, but it is still facing the challenge of sluggish auto markets in the U.S., Europe and Japan. Expectations have been high that the pace of Toyota's recent global booming sales growth will diminish despite stronger sales in emerging markets, such as India.

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