At the end of the first quarter of 2007 Toyota overtook General Motors to become the world's number one car maker by sales.  During the period it sold 2.35 million vehicles as opposed to GM's 2.26 million. Toyota's sales exhibit the steady growth of a clearly focused company that sets the global standard for output productivity and reliability whereas GM's sales reflect a drop due to ending its campaign of heavily discounted sales to car rental companies  that has cost it dearly as it struggles to re-organise yet again to avoid Chapter 11 protection.


GM has occupied the # 1 slot in global auto-production since 1931 with a few rare exceptions. While its fortunes continue to lag in the US it is pinning its hopes on continuing growth in China where sales reached over 7 million vehicles in 2006.