Toyota snatched the title of world’s largest automaker from General Motors in 2008, but the latest stats show the Detroit automaker battled back during the first half of 2009. GM fell behind Toyota by more than 274,000 units in the first half of 2008, but has cut that deficit to just 11,000 units in 2009.
Globally, Toyota managed 3,564,105 sales through the first six months of the year, down 26 percent from the same period a year earlier. General Motors’ global operations weren’t far behind at 3,552,722 units, a decrease of 21.8 percent from 2008, according to Automotive News.
Although GM gained on Toyota during the period, Volkswagen made the greatest strides during the first part of 2009, gaining ground on both automakers. Thanks to a slight 5.1 percent sales decline, VW posted 3,100,300 sales during the first half. Though still 400,000 units behind Toyota or GM, that tally marks more than a 1 million unit improvement from last year.
Ford , the only major American automaker to avoid bankruptcy, saw its sales slip the most among the global top 10, dropping 30.6 percent to 3,093,000 units. That decline landed Ford the #5 spot on the list, trailing direct behind Hyundai - Kia .
