Toyota tops GM as No.1 automaker

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GM was world's top automaker for 77 years, now the honor belongs to Toyota with nearly 9 million unit sales for 2008

By Alex Ricciuti
January 21, 2009 4:38 PM
Filed Under: American, Corporate/Financial, General Motors, Industry, Japanese, Production, Toyota

For 77 years, dating back to the Depression days of the early 30s, GM was the world largest automaker. It no longer is.

In 2008, Toyota finally topped its arch-rival.

GM has announced that its global vehicle sales last year were 8.35 million, down almost 11 percent from 2007. Toyota's total sales were 8.972 million for 2008, down 4 percent over the previous year.

GM has been downplaying Toyota's success for years. But now there are only admissions to make.

GM's Chief Operation Officer Fritz Henderson said of Toyota: "They passed us in terms of market cap, profitability, cash flow long ago."

Translation: We've been beat for a long time. This isn't news.

Henderson goes on to say," I focus on the sales and how to make us successful. ...Honestly this is not a measure that I pay a lot of attention to."

With GM sales still plummeting, Henderson may not be focusing enough. And he may want to ask himself who GM is losing market share to.

Source: freep.com

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Comments

plasma_cluster

January 21, 2009 4:48 PM

They both have to watch out for the number 3 automaker who is coming up quick. Next up...GM

Bristol411S3

January 21, 2009 5:00 PM

Who's that then? I thought Ford was number 3. I don't think their coming up quickly on anything except bankrupcy lawyers...

Joe_Limon

January 21, 2009 7:02 PM

Who do you think it is? Plasma Cluster is the perfect german auto fan, arrogant, bad grammar, and probably 12 years old. It's VW.

Motor_Yakuza

January 21, 2009 8:12 PM

Ouch, that was cold joe, and funny, and a bit true.

unknown

January 21, 2009 10:28 PM

it sucks to be #3

giga-games

January 21, 2009 10:41 PM

you will see that the VW-group will reach both of them faster than you think...GM is in 'bankruptcy', toyota is losing monopoly and VW rises their sales...

giga-games

January 21, 2009 10:45 PM

@unknown,..you maybe don't like vw, but you can't hate audi or porsche, skoda is also growing their sales making good cars, seat,..

michelin901

January 21, 2009 10:57 PM

wouldnt it technically be 'porsche' at no.3 then? nonetheless good show toyoda.

giga-games

January 21, 2009 11:17 PM

hehe, maybe...'porsche';-)

Xanavi23

January 21, 2009 5:00 PM

I do like GM but my fav Manufacturer is Toyota so at long last they have reached the pinnacle despite some losses in the truck market due to the housing crunch. Woooo Toyota !

500lbman

January 21, 2009 5:54 PM

Being the biggest does not mean you are the best. The bigger the business the bigger the liability exposure. I think small to medium sized businesses are more free to create.

Toyota does build quality cars, but every time I have tried one, I can't stand it for some reason. They are not built for the driving enthusiast.

lucifa

January 21, 2009 6:12 PM

i think they're just basic transport for the masses; while we may be driving enthusiasts, we're a very small minority of people.

politz

January 21, 2009 10:14 PM

Yes, among so many different flavors, it seems like over 9 million people have chosen vanilla just last year.

Sad but true.

Xanavi23

January 21, 2009 10:42 PM

For the record, i didn't say they were the best, just that i like to see em do good.

FOXHOUND

January 21, 2009 7:26 PM

GM, open mouth insert foot....

plasma_cluster

January 22, 2009 6:15 AM

higher and higher percentage of German cars on the roads everyday. Inevitable that Toyota will fall to the ever rising VW. German engineered vs Japanese engineered. LOL

Michael

January 22, 2009 6:49 AM

Now that GM is downsizing, it is likely to see VW the second in a couple of years. Will VW succeed to overpass Toyota and become no. 1? Nobody can tell. Let the best company win. Anyway, as far as I know VW/Porsche has greater market value than Toyota (if you remember it was a time last year when its value was higher than Exxon's). Anyway, no matter how subjective our opinions are, we have to admit that both Toyota and VW cars are very good ones.

davethepetrolhead

January 22, 2009 7:43 AM

I really struggle to see why anyone would buy a Toyota not 1 car in their range is what you would call exciting or a class leader from Yaris to Land cruiser there is something better to choose from in each class.

tbrodie

January 22, 2009 9:40 AM

Toyota regularly trumps the reliability category and Lexus does well in owner TLC. Reliability is king with some buyers and they've risen in the safety ranks over the years to be contenders in key segments.

I've never found them interesting. For me, it would be like driving a toaster.

electra

January 22, 2009 11:12 AM

Now GM should not worry about Toyota anymore since they are beaten already, it should worry about VW and Hyundai who could replace its second place...

Jasper

January 22, 2009 4:37 PM

VW won't exceed Toyota, the Japs are much more smarter, and Toyota's sporting heritage is superior to that of VW, all they need to do is reignite those legendary sport cars such as the Supra and Celica. The one to watch is Hyundai, they are making enormous strides and very fast, they've picked up well from the Japanese auto makers and will pose a threat to Toyota's dominance in the future.

Michael

January 22, 2009 8:23 PM

The problem for Toyota is that sporting is only heritage and nothing else. I am curious how the Japanese company could find soon competitors for Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Bentley or Audi S models. Kya-Hyundai has made good progress lately. However, in 2007, the Korean company was 2.4 million units behind VW. So it's still a long way for them to the top.

WildMaverick1200

January 23, 2009 2:07 AM

So GM finally learned that the world does not need Sh1tty Suburbans that break all the time.

Avariel76

January 26, 2009 5:32 AM

So Toyota makes cars that aren't exciting. If excitement means a car breaks down all the time and costs you $$$ in repairs and fuel, then no, Toyota's cars would most certainly not qualify as exciting.

Forgive me for this long story, but it's a clear reason why GM is on government life support. I own a 99 Camry. It's not the fastest or sportiest car I could have bought, but after ten years I still love it and have no intention of trading it in. The ride quality, interior quality, low noise levels, ergonomics, efficiency, etc., the Japanese get all the details right. There have been minor incidents, like that darn squirrel that chewed on one of my engine wires, but otherwise it has had no major problems EVER.

Now, what do you get with domestic cars? Overpowered gas hogs that fall apart. Growing up, my parents always bought GM cars. Three GM cars -- all three were junk. Car 1: An '80 Buick Skylark - the floor rusted through after seven years. My old man got one more year out it by putting sheets of plywood on the floor (hey, we were poor). Car 2: an '88 GMC van. The engine block cracked after one year. GM replaced it. The second engine blew up seven years later. Car 3: Another GMC van '95 (don't ask me why). About three years in, transmission problems arose the rear differential. When we drove it, it sounded like grinding metal. The van made no less than three visits to the GMC dealer for major repair work over the next several years, each time the same problem. After failing to fix it right the third time, the dealer, a certified GMC truck specialist, explained that it was a design flaw in GM's trucks that they couldn't correct. They ended up jerry-rigging some other model's rear differential onto our truck to get it working adequately.

About five years after I bought my car, my parents finally gave up on GM. So what do they drive now? Two Toyotas. Go figure.

pidro

January 26, 2009 9:58 AM

Very well said!

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