MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Toyota breaks GM 77-year reign as top-selling car firm

United States carmaker General Motors sold fewer vehicles than Toyota last year, ending GM's 77-year reign as the world's top-selling car firm. GM said it sold 8,350,000 vehicles in 2008, while Toyota said sales totalled 8,972,000 vehicles.

Both firms saw sales decline, primarily due to weak demand in North America, but GM's saw a steeper fall. Toyota, which has long been the more profitable firm, said that sales fell 4%, while GM's sales declined by 11%. GM said that European sales fell 7% but rose 3% in Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Last month, the White House agreed a 17.4 billion bail-out package for GM and rival Chrysler. GM had warned that it could run out of cash in a matter of weeks, had the money not been made available. "The challenges in the global financial markets, including credit tightening, the drop in commodity prices and economic uncertainty continue to negatively impact demand for new vehicles," said Jonathan Browning, GM's vice president for global sales. Toyota reported its first decline in sales in a decade and has warned that it expects its first annual operating loss in the financial year ending in March.