Although the auto industry is in the midst of a downturn, Toyota — Japan’s largest automaker — continues to post impressive worldwide sales numbers. But while Toyota saw record sales in the first quarter of 2008, General Motors — the U.S.’ largest automaker — saw its worldwide sales slip.
According to Automotive News, Toyota’s sales improved 2.7 percent in the first quarter of 2008 — compared to the same time frame in 2007 — totaling 2,412,602 units. In addition, for the year ending on March 31, Toyota’s sales were up 4.7 percent.
On the other side of the coin, GM actually saw a decrease in worldwide sales, due to a slumping U.S. market. During the first three months of the year, GM sold 2.25 million vehicles worldwide, down from 2.27 million a year earlier.
But the Detroit-based automaker did very well in markets outside of the U.S. Latin America, Africa and the Middle East sales rose 19.6 percent, sales were up 5.8 percent in the Asia-Pacific region and GM saw a 3.3 percent increase in Europe. However, a 10.2 percent dip in the U.S. market — to just 947,498 units — negated any sales gains made in other regions.
