Toyota overtakes GM
DETROIT — Toyota has taken the global automotive sales lead from General Motors, selling 2.41 million vehicles to GM’s 2.25 million during the first three months of the year.
GM said Wednesday its first-quarter sales dropped across the globe by less than 1 percent, but Toyota said its sales were up 2.7 percent during the January-March period.
Toyota Motor Corp., Japan’s top automaker, said its global sales rose on the back of steady demand in Asia and strong demand in Europe.
General Motors Corp. barely won the global sales race with Toyota last year. But Toyota overtook GM as the world’s top automaker as measured by global vehicle production in 2007.
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GM said it posted record sales in three of its four regions, but a 10 percent drop in North America pulled down the overall numbers. Sales were up 8 percent outside of North America, the Detroit automaker said.
