[madan80]

General Motors said worldwide sales fell 10.8 percent in 2008, ending its 77-year claim as the world's largest automaker.


GM sold 8.36 million vehicles last year, putting it about 616,000 units behind the 8.97 million reported by Toyota Motor Corp. Tuesday.


The 2008 results cap an advance by Toyota that has seen the Japanese automaker overcome a 3 million deficit since the start of the decade, fueled in large part by gains in the United States. In 2008, both automakers posted sales declines.


At the time of the announcement, just before 9 a.m. Wednesday, GM defined itself on its Web site as "the annual global industry sales leader for 77 years.''


GM President Fritz Henderson had said the previous evening that retaining the title wasn't "terribly important," to him. He told the Automotive News World Congress last night that it's more critical that GM, which hasn't posted a profit since 2004, is strong financially.



Toyota said its sales across the group fell 4 percent in 2008, dragged down by sharp declines in North America, Europe and Japan.
The figure was in line with Toyota's previous forecasts, as car sales worldwide plunged in the final quarter amid a financial crisis that forced most car companies to slash production.


For the parent only, which excludes minivehicle maker Daihatsu Motor Co. and truck unit Hino Motors Ltd., sales fell 5 percent to 7.996 million vehicles, Toyota said. Sales at the two units rose from 2007.


In the United States, the single-biggest market for both automakers, GM tumbled 22.7 percent last year, while Toyota was down 15.4 percent.


As of 2007, Automotive News ranked Toyota No. 1. In that year, GM included 516,435 Wuling brand vehicles in its global tally. But GM owns only 34 percent of the Chinese company that builds Wuling products, SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co. Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. owns

50.1 percent.

Automotive News counts only sales of majority-owned subsidiaries in an automaker's global total.


More

[speedzak]

77 years! That's a long time and that'll remain etched as a record in the history books for a long period.

Now, all hail Toyota!
World's biggest car manufacturer.
Way to go! Way to go!

[abhinav.gupta88]

77 Years sure is long but i wont be surprised if Toyota or Honda overcome that record.

[madan80]

because the very same country bombed the living daylights out of Japan- so there has been no 77 years there!

[Atlblkz06]

Originally Posted by madan80

because the very same country bombed the living daylights out of Japan- so there has been no 77 years there!

Right - and Pearl Harbor was a justified attack?

[cruiser_1982]

Originally Posted by abhinav.gupta88

77 Years sure is long but i wont be surprised if Toyota or Honda overcome that record.

Toyota Sure will rule the Automarket for a long time.

Honda might not become the Largest automaker in the world unless their product line-up rivals the vast offerings in different segments by Toyota.They need to come up with the more customized vehicles for each geography like the Toyota's IIMV project which has been a grand success in the South Asian market for example.

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by madan80

General Motors said worldwide sales fell 10.8 percent in 2008, ending its 77-year claim as the world's largest automaker.

More

Yes Automotive News is the most authoritative source of world sales. According to it, GM fell from the first spot in 2006 itself because of that Wuling non-control.

[GTO]

Astounding achievement, though many could argue this was accomplished in 2007 itself! Well deserved, Toyota. You may not make the most exciting cars, some are even boring, butttttttttttttttttt boy, do you give the market just what its looking for.

Challenges:

- Get back the hallowed Toyota Quality. Too many blips & recalls in the last 3 years.

- Be on top of future tech. A disruptive technology is long overdue in the automotive industry!!

or Honda overcome that record.

Honda never will. Or atleast in the near future. Honda is now a specialist automaker, compared to the big boys, with only a limited range of cars.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

Yes Automotive News is the most authoritative source of world sales. According to it, GM fell from the first spot in 2006 itself because of that Wuling non-control.

Yup it happened in 2007, but the margin wasnt very convincing back then.

2007 Global Sales Rankings

1. Toyota 9,366,000

2. GM 8,902,252

3. Volkswagen 6,191,618,

4. Ford 5,964,000

5. Hyundai 3,961,629

6. Honda 3,831,000

7. Nissan 3,675,574

8. PSA/Peugeot 3,428,400

9. Chrysler 2,676,268

10. Fiat 2,620,864

Now the margin is nearly .6 million and based on 2008 numbers VW looks like it will overtake GM soon and Hyundai may do the same to Ford. Chrysler and Fiat are expected to drop out of the Top 10 too - its a good thing they're combining forces as they may remain in the rankings with combined sales.

[csentil]

The Toyota Corolla is the best selling car in the world. That's something which is not easy to achieve given the competition. The fruits of their labour is there for all to see. I think reliability and VFM are their greatest trademarks. One might get a more exciting car but are they as reliable and VFM as Toyota's usually are?

[vinaydas]

way to go toyota !!
Japanese cars = perfection(at least Toyota is)

[Atlblkz06]

Originally Posted by vinaydas

way to go toyota !!
Japanese cars = perfection(at least Toyota is)

Umm I wouldnt go that far...
My camry is built in Kentucky and the general level of material refinement is mediocre at best. There are a few pops here and there - and the AC motor has a mild rattle that can be heard because the car is so damn quiet.

Oh and at highway speeds - the passenger seat rattles mildly.

Toyota is turning into GM lol

[vasudeva]

Since I own a Toyota, am very happy, obviously what I post here will have some bias. But what follows is a fact:

In early 1977, Isao Makino, then president of Toyota Motor Sales USA., joined US heads of other automakers in writing a column for a publication called Automotive Design and Development. What was the outlook for the year?

Makino wrote: "Since the first Toyota automobile was imported in the United States in 1958," he wrote, "Toyota has studied the needs and trends of the American market. We have learned the American car buyer is quite astute when he or she considers a purchase. While the prospective owner is always interested in the selling price, we have found that cost of ownership is actually the basic consideration."

Makino's column shared a page with a column signed by Henry Ford II and Lee Iacocca of Ford Motor Co. Their column grumbled about the Clean Air Act, the federal standards for clean air and fuel economy, and predicted that unless these were watered down (obviously global warming at that time meant the after effects of Marilyn Monroe) sales would tank by 1985.

Finally, Makino said: "When we look to 1977 and the decades beyond, we are not looking at figures on headquarters sales charts. Those figures will take care of themselves if we and our dealers dedicate ourselves to one thing — customer satisfaction. Pure and simple, that is our plan."

[GTO]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

Makino wrote: "Since the first Toyota automobile was imported in the United States in 1958,"

Tell you something you won't believe. Toyota withdrew - very abruptly - from the American market in the 60's. Primary reason? Lack of quality. The Toyopet Crown sedan was a disaster for Americas freeway-driving style.

Ironically, Toyota openly credits an American (guru Deming) for its commitment to quality.

[snaronikar]

Atlast it is official. Saw this in CNN y'day. Ws not surprised as it was known in 2007 itself. Once could have predicted this result with recession creeping in US to maximum. However, Toyota is also making loss for the first time in their history.