Although General Motors has retained the title of ‘world’s largest automaker’ for the past 76 years, Toyota has been steadily creeping up on the General for the last decade or so. Last year Toyota barely missed out on toppling GM from its perch, but 2008 could be the year the Japanese automaker finally does it.
First half worldwide sales are in and Toyota has a 300,000 unit lead over the U.S.’ largest automaker. According to Yahoo Finance, Toyota sold 4.8 million vehicles globally through the first six months of the year while GM only moved 4.5 million units.
Toyota ’s tally is up 2 percent from last year, while GM’s is down by 3 percent. GM blames tough economic conditions and several labor disputes in the U.S. for the decline, but did point out that it is having a record year in regions outside of North America, such as Latin America, Asia and Europe.
